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IRCTC  is the sole website from which one can book railways tickets  online in Indian Railways . The only other way of  booking a rail ticket is to head to the nearest Railway booking counter in your city . Knowing the amount of crowd in the booking center it is preferable to book tickets online .  Let me try and help you to book yours via a step by step instructions.

Sign up for the Log in to irctc.co.in

Start at the home page of IRCTC, <irctc.co.in>, and click on “SignUp”.

1. Type your desired username and check for its availability. This is a popular website , so uavailability of same username is possible. Also, put in your desired Password which you can remember .
2. Choose a security question and type the answer for it. This is  to verify your identity, in case your forget your password.
3. Provide Other details such as  address, ( address is very important, in case you are taking physical delivery of the ticket instead of priniting it out, so give precise address carefully)
4. Finally, click on the “SUBMIT” button. You will now see a Terms and Conditions PageAccept the Terms and Conditions by clicking on “Accept”. Now you can see your welcome page.

Plan your Travel

Now that you have your own username and password you may use this to plan your travel . On the left hand side of the website one see a small window like the one shown below

In the from and to  fields one need to enter the first few characters of the city which you want to visit. Based on this the system would suggest nearest match and you can select the city.  Another smart tip is to note down the 3 digit codes of the  cities which you frequently travel. After this  you need to select the date of travel  & then the quota of tickets (general / Tatkal).

Based on this the the system will suggest different train along with timing and type of  tickets available as shown below.

Once you select the type of ticket  using the radio button,  you would get a small window showing availability for the day along with the availability for the next 4 days.

Type of Tickets

1A –  First Class AS

FC – First Class

2A – 2 Tier AC

3A – 3 Tier AC

CC  - Chair Care -AC

SL –  Sleeper Coach with Berth to sleep during the night

2S  -  2nd class sitting -Non-AC

 

One may then use the “book now” button in the above window to make bookings .

 

Paying for the Tickets

 

PNR Status  enquiry

One of the major usecases for IRCTC website after making IRCTC login is that one can check the status of tickets . If the tickets have been confirmed or not .  The same can also be accessed by direct PNR status enquiry via IVR after dialing 139 on your mobile phone. In addition the IRCTC PNR status can be fetched from DIRECTLY via mobile too by sending an SMS to 139 WITH THE PNR number.

IRCTC provides two kinds of online tickets e-tickets and i-tickets:

i-ticket:

It is like a normal ticket which will be delivered at your doorstep in 2-3 days time. For i-Tickets you have to book the ticket at least two days in advance. i-Tickets are issued for Waiting List, Confirmed and RAC (Reservation After Cancellation) cases.

e-ticket:

To book an e-ticket you need to enter your ID proof details like PAN Card, Voter’s ID Card, Passport, Ration Card, Central/State Govt. ID Card or Driving License. After booking the ticket,  take a printout of the Electronic Reservation Slip and carry it during travel with the ID proof.

Type of Tickets TO Be booked after IRCTC login

The indian railways allows many type of tickets to be book via its portal and depending upon the train it may have boogies for  these type of  accommodation.

 

Apart from this there is unreserved seatc for which tickets can be bought in stations and no designated seats will be reserved instead people can sit on FCFS basis.

Print Tickets

The other facility of IRCTC log in is ,after loggingone can check and print the Tickets so that one may carry the same during the travel . Not having an e-ticket printout with you could lead to a fine of Rs 50  and a lot of  problems  with the ticket collectors so advice that we dont miss the tickets during the travel. To pring ticket one has to select the PNR number which and the one may print the ticket in Engligh/Hindi as per  one needs.

Cancellations & Refunds

In addition to booking tickets via the website one may also make cancellations of tickets  which have been booked . Please note that railways has certain rules regarding cancellation  and some amount of money will be deducted if the ticket is cancelled.