1. Have a fast internet connection.
When it comes to booking a Tatkal ticket, Internet connectivity and
speed is one factor that we tend to ignore. Faster internet can
magically convert your “maybe waitlisted” ticket into a confirmed
ticket! With a high speed broad band, a 3G or 4G mobile connection, you
can book and complete the payment faster.
2. Book from a personal network.
An extremely unassuming trick is to use Chrome or Mozilla as your
browser as these are faster among the rest. Don’t risk your confirmed
tickets to the mercy of something like Internet Explorer or Opera.
5. Disable Images.
Images also take up a lot of bandwidth and slow down the loading process
of the IRCTC website. All browsers allow users to disable images and
the option is available through browser settings.
6. Use the IRCTC Master List.
Go to the profile tab on IRCTC and add all passenger details to the master list. You may also add their respective ID card details.
7. Decode the CAPTCHA quickly.
Enter the captcha as quickly as possible and move on to the payment
page. If the captcha is not clear enough, “Refresh Captcha” to get a new
one instead of guessing it.
Size Problem: Size of Captcha image during Tatkal hour is very small so increase the size of image so that you can read captcha easily. You can do that by zooming your browser (I have zoom out around 200%)
Internet Banking always has an edge over Credit, Debit or other Cash
Cards because you can bypass entering the never ending card numbers and
other details. SBI, HDFC and Union Bank provide Internet banking payment
gateways without OTP verification and save time. ICICI bank’s payment
gateway is usually a slower option.
ADDITIONAL TIP: You can get an OTP issued from the bank shortly before the tatkal timings and keep it unused and safe. This OTP can be directly entered when you’re actually processing the payment during the tatkal timings.
2. Book from a personal network.
Preferably book your tickets on your home network instead of trying to
book at your work place, college or from any other shared public network
because many people will be trying to book their tickets and all of
them have the same parent IP address. IRCTC allows only 2 tickets to be
booked from a single IP address. Apart from the first lucky 2, everyone
else is destined to be disappointed
3. Come early on IRCTC site.
Make sure your computer time is in sync with IRCTC. Search for any train on Indianrail.gov.in
and see the time at the bottom and compare against your system time.
Log into your IRCTC account by around 09:55 am. Keep your session alive
by periodically hitting on My Profile > Master List till 9:58. Then
proceed to “Plan My Travel” Page. Fill in the journey details, choose
quota as Tatkal. And the moment the IRCTC clock ticks 10:00, click
submit. “The early bird catches the worm!”
4. Use a fast internet browser.
5. Disable Images.
6. Use the IRCTC Master List.
Go to the profile tab on IRCTC and add all passenger details to the master list. You may also add their respective ID card details.
7. Decode the CAPTCHA quickly.
Size Problem: Size of Captcha image during Tatkal hour is very small so increase the size of image so that you can read captcha easily. You can do that by zooming your browser (I have zoom out around 200%)
8. Choose a faster payment gateway.
ADDITIONAL TIP: You can get an OTP issued from the bank shortly before the tatkal timings and keep it unused and safe. This OTP can be directly entered when you’re actually processing the payment during the tatkal timings.
