IRCTC stands for Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. The IRCTC website handles online ticket booking and catering services for Indian Railways.
Using this website, you can book Indian railway tickets online.
So, if you don’t know how to book a ticket, then this tutorial will guide you to create a new account on IRCTC website and book railway tickets online. There are two ways to do so, either you can use the IRCTC website or the IRCTC App. Let’s start with the website.
Contents
How to Create New Account on IRCTC?
- Visit the IRCTC account registration page and enter your details to create a new account.
- Enter a valid mobile number as you will receive the booking details on your mobile number.
- Once your account registration is completed, follow the below steps to book tickets.
Book a Ticket & Check Seats Availability on IRCTC Website
- Visit the IRCTC website and enter your user ID and password to login to IRCTC booking portal.
- Enter the Arrival and destination stations in the From and To station columns. In the “From” section enter the station where your journey will begin, and in the “To” section enter your destination station.
- Now select your journey date, the date when you want to travel.
- Select the class in which you want to travel, If you don’t know much about class, then class usually means the travel standard. Here is the list of all the classes/coach in Indian railways.
SL (sleeper class) – It is the most basic class in which people travel. You need to book a ticket in advance to board in this class. Since the ticket fare is cheaper, it gets difficult to get a seat in SL coach.
1A (First-tier AC) – This is the most comfortable class in Indian railways, As the name suggests the whole coach is air conditioned.
2A (Second tier AC) – A minor downgrade from the First Tier AC, People who don’t get tickets in the first tier AC usually travel with 2A.
3A (Three-tier AC) –It is like a sleeper coach with air conditioning.
CC (Chair Car) – Has bus type arrangements and comes with AC and without AC.
2S (Second sitting) – It has a 3:2 ratio seats arrangement. Just like a bus, Prefered for small journeys.
GN (General bogie) – It is a second-class coach with wooden seats. You can get tickets of GN on the journey day itself. As there are no reservations it is crowded heavily.
- After selecting the coach, click on find trains.
- It will give you a list of trains with their departure and arrival time.
- To check the seat availability and ticket fare, select the Check availability & fare button.
- It will check for seat availability status and show which seats are available for the respective coach.
- If it shows PQWL/WL followed by some number, then it means the seats are full and people are in the waiting list. You can still book the tickets but there are fewer chances of getting a seat.
- Once you have decided the coach, select book now and enter the passenger details.
- Now make the payment using available payment options and you’re ticket will be successfully booked.
- You will also receive a text message which you can use as a ticket. Make sure to carry a valid ID card while traveling.
Create New Account on IRCTC App
Many people have complained that IRCTC website is slow and they face lots of issues while booking tickets or creating a new account on IRCTC website. If you face the same issue then you can use the official IRCTC app to book tickets.
- First, you need to download the IRCTC’s official app on your smartphone.
- Now if you already have an IRCTC account then you can directly sign in to the app using your user ID and password.
- If you don’t have an account then you can tap the registration button to create a new account on IRCTC app.
- Enter all the required details and tap on next.
- It will ask for your address, so enter your address and other details and tap on next. Now you will be registered on the IRCTC App.
- Login to your account and enter the OTP (one-time password) which is sent to your registered mobile number and click on verify.
- You can now book railway tickets using the IRCTC App.
That was a quick guide on how to create new account on IRCTC and book railway ticket online.
