What is Premium Tatkal and How to Book Tickets in this Quota?

Traveling is not always planned, it could be random or for an emergency purpose. One of the factors which haunt our mind for an unplanned travel is the availability of tickets. You might be lucky to get confirm tickets via Tatkal reservation mode, only if the seats are available, but the situation worsens when the tickets at last moment are exhausted in Tatkal quota. Your expectation meets disappointment when entire tickets of all the leading trains are booked. Under the IRCTC Tatkal scheme, 7-10 percent of seats in any train are reserved for the last minute travel quota. We have faced such circumstances when there’s a huge traffic during Tatkal booking slot and you might not get confirm tickets. To combat such situation, Indian Railways has a solution for such emergency travelers. It offers the passengers to get tickets under the “Premium Tatkal Quota”, the fare of which is higher than the normal Tatkal or general quota tickets.

What is Premium Tatkal?
Premium Tatkal is a ticket booking quota introduced by the Indian Railways where few seats are reserved with a dynamic fare for the passengers who need last minute tickets for traveling. This quota is not active in all the trains of Indian Railways. Only few trains of the Indian Railways have this facility. Passengers can also book their ticket before the train charting status is announced.

Criteria for Booking Premium Tatkal
Booking Timing
Passengers can book tickets under this quota, 24 hours before the date of journey from the source station to destination station. Suppose you are travelling on July 8, 2019, you have to book your ticket on July 7, 2019. Time to book the ticket for AC classes is 10:00 am in the morning a day before the train leaves for the destination. Similarly, for the non – AC class its 11 am, a day before your journey. Do not miss to check train running status online before boarding your train and carry your identity proof with the ticket booked under Premium Tatkal Quota.

• Dynamic Pricing: The prices of the tickets are variable from time to time. It is not fixed. The process is operated with a cycle of demand and supply. Higher the demand of the ticket, higher will be the price. However, limited seat availability is also a constraint.
• These tickets can only be booked on online mode. You cannot book tickets under this quota from the PRS counters.
• Waiting list and RAC are not issued in Premium Tatkal Quota.
• No refund is granted after the cancellation of the ticket.
• Interference of agent is not permitted to book ticket in this quota.
• Premium tatkal tickets can be booked only through IRCTC website.
• No concession is applicable under this quota.
• Concession for child passenger is also not applicable.
• Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of premium tatkal is as same as Tatkal ticket booking

Procedure to Book Ticket in Premium Tatkal Quota

• Step 1: Log onto the IRCTC Website by entering your username and password
• Step 2: Go to “plan my travel” section and enter the “from” and “to” station details
• Steps 3: Select the date of journey and submit. Now the user will be able to see the list of trains.
• Step 4: Click on the premium tatkal button which is next to the “select quota” which will show the trains with premium tatkal tickets.
• Step 5: Now, select your train and book the ticket quickly to get the price as low as possible
• Step 6: Give the passenger details as it is mentioned in the original proof like Voter ID, card and PAN card or other government issued identity cards.
• Step 7: If you feel it necessary, take a print of your online booked ticket.

Note: Before boarding the train, make sure to carry one Original ID proof with you. The TTE will verify the ticket, and will ask you to show an original ID.

Premium Tatkal Ticket Cancellation and Refund Rules
There is no refund policy in Premium Tatkal fare even if the passenger cancels the ticket under this quota.The refund is granted only on certain circumstances.

• If the train diverts from its fixed route and the passengers won’t agree to travel in that route.
• If the source station and the destination or the both is not covered during the diverted travel route. Passengers have the right to claim for the full refund of the Premium Tatkal ticket.
• If the passengers book their rickets with premium tatkal quota are not accommodated with the actual class of coach and disagree to travel in the allotted coach/seat.

How to contact IRCTC for Premium Tatkal Booking Queries?
If the travelers have any queries related to premium tatkal booking, they can contact the IRCTC customer care on the below-mentioned numbers.

• 0755-3934141
• 0755-6610661

Passengers can avail the query services in both Hindi and English languages. They can also resolve the queries via email by sending a mail to care@irctc.co.in.

For cancellations of ticket under this quota, passengers can send the email to tickets@irctc.co.in. Travelling is fun and adding flavors of your choice is an added advantage.Food is something which adds spice in your journey. You can order your food for train journey in advance while booking your train ticket.