How we check the rules
Every date, time and charge on this site traces to a source you can read.
The standard
A rule goes on the site only when we have read a Railway Board circular, an IRCTC page or a statement carried by a government outlet or a national paper. Each rules page says when it was last checked and links its source at the foot.
When the press reports a change but no circular has appeared, the site says so in plain words and keeps the confirmed rule in its calculators, with the reported one shown beside it. Nothing on the site is a guess, and nothing is copied from another calculator.
The rules feed the IRCTC 60 days calculator, the IRCTC advance reservation period page and every other tool directly. They live in two files, one for dates and one for money, so a change is one edit and a rebuild. The maintainer is reachable at myrailwayhelper@gmail.com; a report of a wrong date is checked the same day.
Confirmed rules and their sources
| Rule | Source |
|---|---|
| Advance reservation period: 60 days, journey date not counted, from 1 Nov 2024 | Railway Board Commercial Circular 10 of 2024 All India Radio News (Government of India) |
| Tatkal: AC 10:00, non-AC 11:00, one day before; agents blocked for the first 30 minutes; Aadhaar-only online from 1 Jul 2025 | Railway Board Commercial Circular 08 of 2025 Indian Railways (the circular itself) |
| Aadhaar OTP for every online Tatkal booking from 15 Jul 2025 | Ministry of Railways statement The Week (PTI) |
| Opening day online booking Aadhaar-only until midnight from 12 Jan 2026 | Ministry of Railways statement Deccan Chronicle |
| Full refund, no clerkage, if the train is cancelled (automatic for e-tickets) or runs over 3 hours late and you do not travel; clerkage ₹60 | Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Ticket and Refund of Fare) Rules 2015 Indian Railways (the rules page) |
| Cancellation charges: flat over 48 h, 25% to 12 h, 50% to 4 h, RAC and waitlist ₹60 | IRCTC e-ticket cancellation rules (Refund Rules 2015) IRCTC (official page) |
| Tatkal charge: 10% for second sitting, 30% for other classes, within per-class floors and caps on a minimum distance | IRCTC Tatkal scheme as published ixigo (reproduces the published table) |
| First reservation chart by 21:00 the evening before for 05:00 to 14:00 departures, else 8 hours before; final chart 30 to 5 minutes before | Railway Board Commercial Circular 10 of 2025 All India Radio News (Government of India) |
| 2027 gazetted holidays | DoPT O.M. of 16 Jul 2026 Govt Staff (reproduces the order) |
| Station codes, names, zones and locations | OpenStreetMap OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) |
Last full check: 26 Oct 2026. IRCTC’s cancellation page and the Railway Board circular folder are re-read monthly.
Reported, not yet confirmed
| Change | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Cancellation bands of 72, 24 and 8 hours from 1 Apr 2026 | Several blogs and redBus; IRCTC’s own page still shows 48, 12 and 4 hours. We use IRCTC’s page. |
| First chart at 20:00 the evening before, or 10 hours, from Dec 2025 | Business Standard citing Navbharat Times; no circular found. Shown beside the confirmed timing. |
| Free change of journey date on confirmed tickets from Jan 2026 | Announced by the Ministry in Oct 2025; no sign it is live. Not used anywhere on the site. |
| No Tatkal quota in First AC (1A) | Business Today (Apr 2025) and most booking guides; IRCTC's pages do not list Tatkal classes. Shown as reported on the Tatkal charge page. |
| Fines of ₹250 (sleeper) and ₹440 (AC) for boarding a reserved coach on a waiting list ticket, from 1 May 2025 | Ministry guidelines reported by Free Press Journal and others; the order itself not found. Shown as reported on the waiting list page. |
The full list in date order: rule changes since 2024. Seen a circular we have missed? Tell us.