Tatkal verbally means with immediate effect and this facility is available in most of the trains. If you are looking to book your ticket using the tatkal facility then you have to apply at least 2 days in advance. If there happens to be more demand due to tatkal applications than special cases are added in order to make arrangements. The Indian railways charge an extra fee or an allowance for this facility which depends on the length of the journey and the class of the seat. Generally it is around 15Rs-300Rs.

Other than the reservation form a photo ID card needs to be produced. This can either be your passport, driver license, pan card etc… Just like any ordinary reservation, in Tatkal reservation also a maximum of 6 passengers and 2 holders can file a requisition in one single form.

The tatkal factory is proved to be a boon for passengers who are frequent travelers and look for a legal way of purchasing a ticket .With this they don’t have to look for agents who sell tickets in black and charge a commission. One needs to be vigilant as the Tatkal Railway Reservationcounter opens only two days before the train journey. Another unique feature of Tatkal Railway Reservation is that once you have booked your ticket under this provision you are not allowed to cancel the ticket, however you can get a refund of 25% if you inform 24hours before the journey. It has been seen that nowadays the online booking get overloaded by the traffic and the server get over burdened therefore it is advisable to go personally to the ticket counter and get a tatkal reservation done.

The authorities while seeing the tatkal application often take a decision of adding an extra boggy to accommodate the applicants, and if at this juncture somebody tends to withdraw the booking then it’s a sheer loss of one’s seats as tatkal booking is itself done at the last moment. As one counseling leads to somebody else losing that seat. The Indian railway also has to under o an extra cost of adding a separate boggy in order to accommodate the new passengers.