For immediate plans, tatkal booking is one of the most sought after services. Indian Railways offers a quota of ‘Tatkal’ and ‘Premium Tatkal’ for ticket bookings.
Did you know? You can now avail ₹0 Payment Gateway Charges with UPI while booking your train tickets!
Tatkal Booking: Introduced in 1997, tatkal literally means ‘immediately’. It enables a passenger to book a ticket one day in advance of the actual date of the journey.
Premium Tatkal Booking: Introduced in the year 2014, Premium Tatkal works on dynamic pricing. This means passengers will be charged a higher price in case of increased demand and a lower price if the demand is less.
Also Read: How to Book Tatkal Tickets on ixigo
These bookings open at 10 AM for AC Classes and 11 AM for non-AC classes.
The difference between Tatkal ticket and Premium tatkal ticket are as follows:
> Tatkal ticket charges are fixed whereas Premium Tatkal tickets have dynamic fare pricing for various classes.
> For Tatkal tickets, agents are allowed to book tickets under this quota whereas, for Premium Tatkal, this is prohibited.
> RAC/ WL ticket can be booked as Tatkal tickets whereas only confirmed ticket gets booked under Premium Tatkal.
> Passengers might get a waitlisted ticket under Tatkal booking but this is not possible for Premium Tatkal.
> Tatkal tickets can be cancelled. This option is not available for Premium Tatkal.
> Preferential allowances are given to senior citizens and children under Tatkal tickets. Under Premium Tatkal service, no preferential allowances are given to any passengers.
> Tatkal tickets are available at the counters and online platforms. Premium Tatkal tickets are only available on online platforms.
So, the next time you are booking a last-minute ticket, keep these points in mind.
