Earlier the IRCTC advance reservation period and time for all classes and all trains were 60 days in advance exclusive of the train's day of departure. Indian Railways has issued a Circular for New ARP of 120 days advance railway reservation.
Online Advance Rail Reservation through www.irctc.co.in
The process of booking an E-Ticket is easy and convenient. Registration on the website is free. For any assistance/ query about e-tickets, please send an email to care@irctc.co.in or talk to the customer care executive at helpline number 011-39340000.The process of online IRCTC advance reservation
- You should register on the www.irctc.co.in website to book tickets. Registration is free.
- Before registration, the customer should go through the “Terms and Conditions” available on the website.
- You are allowed to register only one user ID with correct details of e-mail, mobile no., etc.
- Full fare tickets, including Tatkal, Child tickets, and tickets for senior citizens at a concessional rate, can be booked through the website. E-tickets can be booked for a journey between any two stations on the train's route, including the originating station and destination.
- When a ticket is successfully booked, an SMS will be sent to the customer detailing the PNR, ticket status, fare charged, etc.
During the journey, even if one passenger booked on an e-ticket presents any of the ten Identity Cards mentioned below in original, the same is accepted as proof of identity (For Tatkal ticket same Identity card is to be presented during a journey which was mentioned at the time of booking of tickets):
- Voter Identity Card issued by Election Commission of India,
- Passport,
- PAN Card, issued by Income Tax Department of India,
- Driving License issued by RTO,
- Photo Identity Card issued by Central/State Governments,
- Student Identity Card with photograph issued by recognized School/college for their students,
- Nationalized Bank Passbook with a photograph,
- Credit Card issued by Bank with a laminated photograph as a proof of identity and
- Unique Identification Card ‘Aadhar’ issued by Govt. of India
- Photo identity cards having a serial number issued by Public Sector Undertakings of State/Central Government, District Administrations, Municipal bodies and Panchayat Administrations.
It will be the responsibility of the passenger-carrying anyone proof of identifications mentioned above that the other passengers booked on the e-tickets are booked passengers and are not traveling in someone else’s name. If none of the passengers is carrying any proof of identity, all the passengers will be treated as traveling without a ticket and shall be charged accordingly. If the passengers fail to carry the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS)/SMS sent by IRCTC containing journey details, a penalty of Rs.50/- will be imposed by the Ticket Checking Staff.
IRCTC Advance Reservation Time
Tickets on the Internet can be booked from 00:30 hrs to 23:30 hrs on all days.
Payment for booking E-tickets:
- Payment can be made by using all Master/Visa /Amex cards.
- Account-holders of major banks viz. State Bank of India, PNB, Indian Bank, ICICI, HDFC, etc., can also use Net Banking/ Debit Cards facility for making payments for tickets booked through the internet.
- Customers can also use various Cash Cards for making payments.
- Payment can also be made through IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) provided by India's National Payments Corporation.
In the E-ticketing scheme, passengers get their reservation booked through the internet while sitting at home and occupy their reserved seat based on Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) taken out from their own computer or SMS IRCTC/Railways along with the original Identity Card. E-Tickets can now be booked using mobile phone also through the IRCTC app.
By increasing the ARP from 60 days to 120 days, IRCTC will get more profits every year because money from reservations from two more months will be added to the IRCTC wallet. The cancellation of reserved tickets will also increase, which would be additional income for the Indian Railways.