Indian Railways allows passengers to book a seat in a train exactly one day before the date of journey with the Tatkal facility. A Tatkal ticket is available on a first-come, first served basis.

Slots for the various AC classes, such as AC 3-tier, AC 2-tier and First Class open at 10 AM while that for the sleeper class opens at 11 AM. The railways reserves only a few seats or berths for Tatkal in a coach, whether it is AC or non-AC.

Tatkal charges have been fixed at the rate of 10 per cent of the basic fare for second class and 30 per cent of the basic fare for all other classes, subject to a minimum and maximum fee. The tickets are not refundable if you decide to cancel your ticket.

Here are the steps to be followed to book a Tatkal ticket.

Visit IRCTC website.
Click on the ‘Options Menu’ on the top right corner of the page: you will find the ‘Login’ option in the side panel.
Once logged in, you will find the option to ‘Book Ticket’.
Enter the station you’d like to board the train from in the ‘From’ field and the destination station in the ‘To’ option.
From the dropdown menu beneath it, select the ‘Tatkal’ option for the quota. It is set on ‘General’ by default.
Enter the desired date in the relevant field and select the class for which you’d like to book. Once done, click on ‘Search’.
You’ll be shown a list of trains that run between the stations for the date. If tickets are available under Tatkal quota, click on ‘Book Now’.
You will be redirected to fill details of the passengers – these will include name, age, gender and berth preference.
After filling out all the required details, enter the captcha and your mobile number at the bottom of the page. Your ticket details will be sent to this number.
Choose your preferred payment option and make the payment.

Also Read: Indian Railways Rules Changed: No More RAC Tickets In Garib Rath Express Trains