The Department of Railways, Govt. of India has changed the timings for booking railway tickets under Tatkal Quota / Scheme. As per the new timings, Tatkal tickets can be booked from 10 AM to 12 Noon. The changes have been made due to several complaints on Railway Agents and IRCTC Agents. The new Tatkal booking timings will come into force from 10th July 2012.
Earlier Tatkal tickets were sheduled to be issued between 8 AM to 10 Am. Another important change in the new tatkal booking system is the agents are not allowed to book tickets under Tatkal quota for the first two hours. The changes have been considered imminent due to the misuse of the Tatkal scheme by Agents.
As per the new guidelines of the Indian Railways, the travel agents and authorised IRCTC and Railway agents are also not allowed to book Tatkal tickets between 10 AM to 12 Noon from Ticket Counters or from the Internet. This will drastically reduce the waiting time for the railway passengers.
At present, General and Tatkal bookings start from 8 AM. As per the latest guidelines, the Indian Railways is also likely to open separate Tatkal Booking Counters. The department is also proposed to set up CCTV cameras to monitor the crowd.