Millions of people travel by train in India every day. To make journeys easier for passengers Indian Railways regularly updates its rules and services. One such helpful service is the Tatkal ticket booking which is mainly for those who need to travel urgently or couldnt get a regular ticket. Recently some important changes have been made to this system increasing the chances of getting a confirmed ticket. What is tatkal ticket booking? Tatkal tickets are meant for last-minute travel plans or emergencies. These tickets are not available throughout the year like regular ones — they open only a few hours before the travel date. That’s why it’s important to know when Tatkal bookings begin. When does tatkal booking start? For AC classes Tatkal bookings start at 10:00 AM one day before the travel date. For non-AC classes bookings start at 11:00 AM also one day in advance. Where can you book tatkal tickets? You can book Tatkal tickets in two ways: Online through the IRCTC official website or mobile app — this is the most preferred method as more tickets are available online. Offline at railway reservation counters — although fewer Tatkal tickets are issued at counters compared to online platforms. What do you need to book a tatkal ticket? While booking you’ll have to choose the train and class then enter details like passenger names ages gender and a valid ID proof. During the journey passengers must carry an original ID like an Aadhaar card PAN card or passport. How many tatkal tickets can you book? As per Indian Railways rules a person can book a maximum of 4 Tatkal tickets at a time. This rule was introduced to reduce ticket hoarding and black marketing. By limiting the number of tickets Indian Railways aims to increase the chances of genuine travelers getting confirmed tickets. How to book tatkal train tickets? If you want to book a Tatkal ticket the first step is to create an account on the IRCTC website or app. After creating your account log in and go to the Booking tab. Then click on the Tatkal option. You’ll need to fill in important travel details like: Train number Boarding station Destination station Date of travel Once you enter all the required information click on the Search button. You’ll then see the list of available Tatkal tickets for your selected journey. After that select the travel class (like Sleeper AC etc.) fill in the passenger details — including name age gender and ID proof information — and proceed to payment. For payment IRCTC offers several options like: Credit Card Debit Card UPI Net Banking Complete the payment and your Tatkal ticket will be booked!