Indian Railways opens ticket booking for Christmas holidays – Here’s how to book IRCTC e-ticket

Indian Railways ticket booking rules

Last year, the national transporter reduced the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) from 120 days to 60 days, excluding the journey date. According to railways, the shorter ARP will provide passengers with greater clarity and convenience in planning their travel.

However, starting October 1 this year, Indian Railways introduced a new rule: during the first 15 minutes of the opening of general reservation, tickets can be booked only online via the IRCTC website or mobile app by users authenticated through Aadhaar.

“There shall, however, be no change in the timings of booking of general reserved tickets through computerized PRS counters of Indian Railways at present. There shall also be no change in the timings of the restriction of 10 minutes of the opening of general reservation during which authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways shall not be allowed to book opening day reserved tickets,” Ministry of Railways said in a statement.

IRCTC E-ticket booking

• To book an e-ticket through the IRCTC website, an user must first create an account on the portal.
• Login by entering your User name and Password.
• Provide your desired From – To station, Date of Journey and Class of travel.
• To find train list, click on “Search” option.
• The next page displays the list of trains available for the selected route
• To select the train from the train list, click on the type of class available in the selected train
• To book e-ticket in the selected train, click on “Book Now” button.

• Passenger Reservation Page will appear; check whether the train name, station names, class and journey date displayed on the page are same as desired by you.
• Enter the Name of the Passengers, Age, Gender, Berth Preference etc. details for each passenger.
• After providing correct details, click on “Continue” button. To change any details related to Train, Class, Quota etc
• The ticket details, Total fare (including GST & Convenience Fee) and availability of berths at the particular time appear on the screen.
• After checking all details, click on Continue button for Payment process
• Select the desired payment option from the displayed Payment Gateway menus.
• After successful payment and booking of accommodations, Ticket Confirmation Page will appear.