Electronic tickets, mainly known as e-Tickets, are in the digital format similar to paper tickets. Earlier, passengers had to go to PRS counters of Indian Railways and fill up a reservation form to book seats and receive paper tickets. However, Indian Railways has introduced paperless electronic tickets, aka e-Tickets for passengers facility with the invention of technology. Nowadays, passengers can book e-Tickets online through computers or smartphones easily. You can also cancel your e-Tickets, transfer them to a family member, change the boarding point, and avail some other services related to the e-Ticket reservation. Here are some e-ticket rules for train ticket booking online.
Where to Book Indian Railways E-Tickets?
Indian Railways has an official website to book e-Tickets – Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation/IRCTC. It is a part of Indian Railways and manages online e-Ticket booking services using two platforms – its official website IRCTC Next Generation e-Ticketing System and an official mobile app IRCTC Rail Connect. These 2 are the only official platforms of Indian Railways for booking e-Tickets online. While several third-party apps and websites allow you to book Indian Railways e-Tickets online, they all make the booking through IRCTC.
What Details Does an E-Ticket Contain?
An E-Ticket is a detailed record of your journey and contains personal and itinerary details such as:
- PNR number
- Train name and number
- Source station
- Destination station
- Boarding station
- Departure Station
- Booking date
- Journey date
- Travel class
- Coach number
- Seat number
- Transaction ID
- Booking status
- Quota
- Ticket fare
- Concession, if any
- Scheduled departure time
- Name, age, and gender of passengers
- Food Options (for trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, etc.)
- Travel policy details, etc.
Passengers use several third-parties such as RailMitra, RailRestro companies websites and apps to see PNR status, train running status, fare enquiry, seat availability, order food in train, etc.
IRCTC Rules for E-Ticket Booking
To book E-Tickets through IRCTC, you must have an account with it. If you have already an account, you can log in to the website using your id and password. Once logged in, you can find trains, look up seat availability according to travel class and quota, and book tickets on a train. You can make an online payment using different modes such as net banking, credit cards, debit cards, etc.
How to Carry E-Tickets While Traveling?
Once the reservation is complete, you will get the e-Ticket for your travel in different types. These include:
● ERS: Electronic Reservation Slip which you can print out through the site IRCTC> Go to My Account> Click on My Transactions > Booked Ticket History, it will show your ticket details. You can take a printout of the slip and carry it as proof of ticket booking.
● SMS: Indian Railways TTE also accepts the SMS you get to your registered mobile number as proof of ticket booking.
● VRM: You will also get an e-mail to your registered mailing address with the reservation descriptions. You can capture a screenshot of this mail or a screenshot of the e-Ticket show on mobiles, laptops, etc. It is called Virtual Reservation Message or VRM, which is accepted by Indian Railways as proof of train ticket booking rule.
Please note that whether you are carrying ERS, VRM or SMS, you must also bring valid identity proof such as Aadhar card, Pancard, etc.
How to Cancel Your E-Tickets?
You can also cancel your e-Tickets online through the IRCTC website, partially or fully. It can be done by accessing your IRCTC account and by selecting the PNR number you want to cancel. You can cancel ticket one or more of the total passengers booked through an e-Ticket (called partial cancellation), you will receive a fresh ERS which must be shown to the ticket examiner during the journey.
Cancellation Rules for E-Tickets
Specific rules bound cancellation of E-Tickets. An E-Ticket booked through the IRCTC website can only be cancelled online and not through PRS ticket booking counters.
● Confirmed e-Tickets can be cancelled up to four hours before the scheduled departure time of the train.
● The time limit for RAC and Waiting e-Tickets is up to 30 minutes before the train departure time.
● Once the chart is prepared, passengers can cancel the E-Ticket only by filing a Ticket Deposit Receipt, aka TDR.
Refund Rules for E-Tickets
Once you have cancelled your Online E-Ticket, you will get a money refund after deducting applicable cancellation charges. For e-Tickets booked online through IRCTC, the amount will be credited to the account using which you have to pay the money at the time of ticket booking.