During the upcoming Diwali and Chhath festivals, Indian Railways anticipates substantial passenger traffic increases. Northern India particularly sees numerous people traveling to their native places for festivities. The annual festival rush creates significant demand for train tickets, making last-minute travel arrangements challenging. Tatkal ticket booking serves as a final option for those without advance reservations, though securing these tickets proves difficult due to seat limitations and seasonal demand spikes.IRCTC tatkal tipsAdvance Preparation: Keep passenger information and payment details ready before Tatkal bookings commence.IRCTC Master List Usage: Create an Aadhaar-authenticated master list storing essential details like name, age, seating preferences and meal selections for swift booking.Quick Payment Solutions: Use UPI payments or maintain IRCTC wallet balance for faster transactions.Alternative Travel Plans: Select less popular trains or routes for better seat availability. Special festival trains often operate on busy routes.Booking Assistance Tools: Utilize IRCTC Tatkal Magic Autofill Chrome extension for rapid form completion with pre-saved details.How to book tatkal tickets on IRCTC?Step 1: Access IRCTC website and sign in with credentials.Step 2: Input journey specifics—departure, arrival stations, travel date and class.Step 3: Choose Tatkal from quota options to view available trains.Step 4: Select preferred class from train list. Quota options display on right side.Step 5: Press “Book Now” for chosen combination.Step 6: Enter passenger information—name (16 characters limit), age, gender, berth choice, meal preference.Step 7: Complete verification code and provide mobile number for notifications.Step 8: Review ticket information, costs and berth availability on next screen.Step 9: Proceed to payment after verification.Step 10: Select preferred payment gateway.Step 11: Complete payment process for ticket confirmation and VRM receipt via mobile.Note: Users can also use official Rail Connect App to make bookings.
