IRCTC FTR Service: How to Book a Charter Train in India

By: Sanjay Kumar | onAugust 14, 2021

Do you know that you can book a charter train just like you book a charter airplane? IRCTC FTR Service allows passengers to book saloon charter trains in India. Travelling in a train saloon car would give you a feel of travelling in a moving house. These Charter coaches have exclusive bedrooms, a large drawing cum dining room with sofas, chairs, and tables.

Also, the charter trains are equipped with ultra-luxurious features, and they are ideal for passengers who seek personal exclusivity while travelling. IRCTC offers royal treatment to its passenger through the FTR charter train service. So, if you want to get a whole new travel experience, the Indian Railways Charter train is for you.

Notably, a charter train ticket can cost you almost 18 times the first-class fare. Though the ride is expensive, long-distance train travel won’t be a drag on your nerves and body anymore.

Read further to know interesting facts about IRCTC FTR service and how can you book a charter train in India.

Book Charter Train Using IRCTC FTR Service

Booking a charter train is easy. IRCTC FTR Service allows you to book an Indian Railways saloon charter. You can even book the entire train using this service. Earlier saloon coaches were reserved for Indian Railways officials and few very important persons of India. Indian Railways expects a boost in tourism through train travels by launching a charter train service through the FTR scheme.

Follow the steps to book a charter train online:

Visit the IRCTC FTR page of Indian Railways
Sign in with your username and password. If you don’t have this, Sign up first.
Once you have successfully signed in, the option for booking a train or coach will be displayed.
Select between train or coach.
Doing this will redirect you to a webpage where you need to fill in details like date of journey, coach type etc.
Next, the website will redirect you to the payment page, where you have to pay the registration amount.
Once the payment is made successfully, IRCTC will notify you on your registered email Id and mobile number.

Passengers should note that the FTR Saloon Coach booking service is launched by Indian Railways on a pilot basis. Currently, this service is only available in selected railway zones.

Related Reading – Train Ticket: All That You Need To Know

Offline FTR Train and Saloon Coach Booking

You may visit the Chief Reservation Officer of your concerned station to book the FTR train and Saloon Coach of Indian Railways. For more details on Saloon Charters, you may like to visit the IRCTC Tourism website. It has all the descriptions of exclusive railway saloons and enquiry forms. Additionally, you may refer to the contact us page of this IRCTC website to contact the concerned officials and enquire about the coach booking rules.

What Makes Indian Railway Saloon Coach So Special?

Following things makes the Indian Railway Saloon Coach so special:

Indian Railways Luxury Saloon Coach: Luxury Redefined

Ultra-luxurious features and comfort make the Indian Railway saloon coaches so special. These coaches have exclusive air-conditioned bedrooms with attached bathrooms and dining rooms. Bathrooms are equipped with a shower, geyser, water closet etc., and bedrooms have cupboards, dressing tables, chairs, and luggage racks.

Additionally, there are 4-6 extra seats/berths for accommodating extra passengers on the saloon coach.

Saloon Charter Equipped With Refrigerator, Utensils, RO, and Hot Water Sink

Surprisingly, saloon coaches have a kitchenette set up for passengers. Every saloon coach has a refrigerator, utensils, RO, and hot water sink. What’s more, you can get IRCTC also provides cook and cooking materials upon the request of passengers at additional cost.

Home on Wheels: Comfortable Sofas, Dining Table, and Chairs

Travelling on a saloon coach is like travelling on a moving home that has wheels. It has all the equipment like sofas, dining table, chairs, kitchenette setup, and LED TV to give you a feel of living at your home. In addition, accommodation of extra passengers allows you to claim this saloon coach for greeting your guests on the go.

Charter Train With Master Bedroom With Comfort Like a Five Star Hotel

Charter trains have super-luxurious saloon coaches. These trains offer comfort to passengers comparable to a five-star hotel. The master bedroom of the charter train is no less than a sweet of a five-star hotel. Besides offering you the cozy setup, charter trains are also known for their majestic treatment.

IRCTC Majestic Saloon Cars

IRCTC FTR Service allows you to relive the royal era of the Raj. The saloon coaches are spacious and designed majestically to provide passengers with a lifetime experience. Equipped with everything to provide you with the best dining, sightseeing, and journey exploration opportunity on the wheel, Majestic Saloons are made for extraordinary travellers.

Trailing Window of Charter Saloon

Unwind and unfold the surrounding and nature’s canvas through the trailing window of the charter saloon. Every Saloon train has a rear trailing window for passengers to let them enjoy the outside view. Looking outside through the trailing window gives you a truly mesmerizing view of the world moving away.

Safety

Earlier, the saloon coaches were only reserved to Indian Railway’s officials for inspection and official visits. However, Indian Railways has decided to launch only those luxury saloon coaches for commercial purposes, which are not used for safety and operational needs of Railways. Operated by IRCTC, these coaches offer superior safety features and equipment for the comfort of the passengers.

FTR Coach Booking Rule:

Consider the following FTR Coach booking rules that will help you easily book the coach or entire train.

FTR coach booking can be made a maximum of 6 months in advance or a minimum of 30 days before the date of the journey.
A party can book a maximum of 2 coaches on FTR in a single train.
In case of train booking, you can book a maximum of 24 coaches, including SLR coaches and a Generator car.
A mandatory registration cum security deposit payment of Rs 50000 per coach has to be made by the party.
Beyond a tour period of 7 days, an additional Rs 10000 per day per coach shall be payable by the party.
Beyond 18 passenger coaches, Rs 50000 per coach will be added additionally to the registration amount.

It is mandatory to make the security deposit payment within six days of the FTR request date. You will get an automatically generated reference number after successful payment of the security deposit cum registration fee. Online FTR train booking service is on a pilot basis. Depending upon the requirement, you may need to visit the IRCTC office for furnishing more details in person.

Also, these rules may change if the Ministry of Railways revises any rule.

Can I Book a Full Coach in Train?

Yes, you can book a full coach in train through IRCTC FTR service. Full Tariff Rate or FTR service allows you to book a coach or entire train. Individuals or organizations can make the booking by visiting the IRCTC official website – www.ftr.irctc.co.in. You can also visit the controlling officer/Chief Reservation Supervisor of the concerned reservation office and request booking a coach or train.

How Much Does It Cost to Charter a Train?

The cost to charter a train will depend on various factors such as type of train, coach, route, and total distance covered by the train. Besides that, the cost will also vary depending on whether you will be booking a charter train in prime tourist locations like Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Darjeeling Himalayan Railways, and Konkan Railways.

How Do I Book a Train Coach for Wedding Trips?

You can book a train coach for a wedding trip by visiting the Controlling Officer/Chief Reservation Supervisor of the respective Railway Zone office. There you need to make a request for train coach booking for all members of the wedding trip and subsequently follow the procedure You will be required to produce Identity proof of all passengers who will board the train for the wedding trip.

What Is the Ticket Price of the Indian Railways Luxurious Saloon Coach?

The ticket price for a luxurious saloon coach lies between Rs 50000 to 1 lakh. Though one saloon coach can comfortably accommodate up to 6 passengers, one has to pay 18 times the first-class fare for the same route of the scheduled train. Additionally, you will have to pay an extra price for availing of cook and cooking materials on the train.

Indian Railway cares for every need of passengers. IRCTC FTR Service provides individuals and organizations to book coaches and even entire train for their needs. Whether it is a religious tour to pilgrimages or a marriage trip, you can always rely on FTR service for long-distance journeys.

At RailMitra, we try to bring interesting facts about Indian Railways. Keeping you informed with the latest railway news is our top priority. apart from that, our team would be delighted to serve you the best food on the train while with our utility services, you can get all the answers to train-related enquiries. Check the PNR status of your ticket, spot your train, and get a detailed train schedule on your mobile with RailMitra App.

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