Railway Bookings at Taktal Ticket: Changes In Force

New reservation rules for the Taktal train tickets scheme have come into effect today. India Railways announced that as of today, passengers will only be able to book their Taktal train tickets one day in advance of their travel date, excluding the actual day of travel, as opposed to the two days in advance allowed under the old regulations.

India Railways have also announced a swathe of other changes to the way the Taktal ticket scheme will work. Taktal tickets, which are designed to accommodate urgent last minute bookings on most sleeper and AC class express trains in India, will from now on be limited to just four passengers named on each ticket, as opposed to the six passenger limit before. In addition, refunds will no longer be granted for any Taktal ticket that has already been confirmed, with the only exception to this rule being those passengers who are waitlisted. India Railways also confirmed that duplicate Taktal tickets will no longer be issued in case of lost tickets.

Further changes to the scheme include a new requirement that passengers produce photo ID before Taktal tickets can be issued. The following IDs are acceptable for Taktal tickets:

• Passport
• Driver’s License
• Central/State Government ID Card
• PAN Card (Issued by the Tax Department)
• Voter Photo ID Card
• Student Identity Card
• Bank Card, Bank Passbook or Credit Card with laminated photograph

Passengers are also required to state the identification they will use prior to travel, and to make sure they have this identification in their possession during their train journey. Should a passenger or passengers travel without being in possession of the ID indicated on the Taktal ticket, then that traveler or group of travelers will be considered to be traveling without a ticket, and will face being fined for the cost of their trip. In cases where more than one ID is indicated on the Taktal ticket, only one of the IDs needs to be produced to satisfy inspection requirements.