Tatkal opens one day before the date of journey, not counting the journey date itself. For a train leaving on the 15th, Tatkal opens on the 14th.

The journey date here is the date the train leaves its originating station, not the date it reaches yours. This catches people out on long-distance trains. If a train starts in Delhi at 22:00 on the 14th and reaches your station at 03:00 on the 15th, its journey date is the 14th, so Tatkal opened at 10:00 or 11:00 on the 13th.

Check the train's schedule for its start date before the booking day. On any Railzy train page, the first row of the time table is the originating station and departure time.

• A Tatkal ticket can carry up to four passengers on one PNR.
• Tatkal is not available in First AC (1A).
• No concessions apply. There is no student, senior citizen or other discount on Tatkal fares.
• Every passenger should carry an original photo ID during the journey. The ticket examiner can ask for it.

Indian Railways tightened Tatkal booking in July 2025, to stop seats being cornered by bulk booking software:

• Online, only Aadhaar-authenticated IRCTC accounts can book Tatkal tickets. If your IRCTC profile is not linked and verified with Aadhaar, do it days in advance. You cannot do it during the booking window.
• Tatkal bookings at reservation counters and through authorised agents need an OTP sent to the Aadhaar-linked mobile number.
• Authorised ticketing agents cannot book during the first 30 minutes of the window: 10:00–10:30 for AC classes and 11:00–11:30 for non-AC classes.

Rules like these change. Before an important trip, check the current Tatkal rules on the IRCTC website.

A Tatkal ticket costs the normal fare plus a Tatkal charge. The charge is a percentage of the basic fare, not of the total ticket price:

Each class also has a minimum and maximum Tatkal charge, so on very short or very long trips the charge is clamped to those limits instead of the plain percentage. The basic fare itself depends on distance and class. Our fare guide explains what goes into it.

Railzy does not show fares. The exact amount, with every component broken out, appears on the IRCTC payment page before you pay.

Some trains also have a Premium Tatkal quota. It opens at the same times as regular Tatkal but works differently:

• The fare is dynamic. It rises as seats in the quota sell, so it can cost much more than regular Tatkal.
• Only confirmed tickets are issued. There is no RAC or waitlist in Premium Tatkal: either you get a seat or you do not get a ticket.
• It can be booked online only, and no refund is given if you cancel a confirmed Premium Tatkal ticket.

Tatkal refund rules are much stricter than for ordinary tickets:

• Confirmed Tatkal ticket: no refund if you cancel, however early.
• Waitlisted or RAC Tatkal ticket: cancelling gives a refund under the normal rules, minus a small clerkage charge.
• A waitlisted Tatkal e-ticket that is still fully waitlisted when the chart is prepared is cancelled automatically and refunded. You do not need to do anything.
• You can still claim a refund on a confirmed Tatkal ticket in certain cases, by filing a TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) on IRCTC. These include the train being cancelled, running very late, or being diverted away from your station.

Nothing guarantees a Tatkal seat, because demand on busy routes is far higher than supply. These steps remove the delays that cost people seats:

1. Complete Aadhaar authentication on your IRCTC account well before the booking day.
2. Save your co-travellers in IRCTC's master passenger list, so you are not typing names and ages during the rush.
3. Log in a few minutes before 10:00 or 11:00. Logging in at exactly opening time adds a step while the seats are going.
4. Keep a fast payment method ready, such as UPI or a funded wallet. Card payments with an extra authentication step take longer.
5. Have a second train in mind. Check trains between your stations the day before, in case the first choice sells out.
6. Check Tatkal availability the day before, so you know whether you are competing for a handful of seats or for many.