Train tickets in India are booked on IRCTC (irctc.co.in or the Rail Connect app) or through an authorised partner app that books on IRCTC for you. You need an IRCTC account, the stations, the date, a class, a quota, and each passenger’s name, age and gender; you pay online and receive an e-ticket with a PNR. No physical ticket is needed — the e-ticket on your phone plus an ID is enough.
Where tickets are actually sold
Every online train ticket in India is issued by IRCTC, the railway’s ticketing arm, whether you book on irctc.co.in, the IRCTC Rail Connect app, or a partner app such as ixigo, MakeMyTrip, Paytm or Amazon. The partners are front doors to the same system; you still need an IRCTC account, and the ticket, PNR and refund all live with IRCTC. Counter tickets at a station are the only other channel.
The steps, on IRCTC
- Create an account — username, mobile number, email, address. Verify the mobile and email. Link Aadhaar if you will ever book Tatkal (mandatory for it since July 2025).
- Search — from station, to station, date. Use the station code (NDLS, GAYA) or the city name and pick from the list; “Delhi” has several stations and the train may not stop at the one you assumed.
- Pick the class — the availability for each class shows under each train as AVAILABLE-n, RAC n, or a waitlist like GNWL 23. What those mean is in train classes and waitlist codes.
- Pick the quota — General is the default. Tatkal, Ladies, Senior Citizen, Divyaang and others appear in the dropdown when they apply; a quota changes which pool you draw from, and sometimes whether you get a berth at all.
- Passenger details — name, age, gender, berth preference, and for concessions an ID. Save them to the master list so the next booking takes seconds.
- Review, then pay — UPI, card, net banking or wallet. The fare shown is final and includes the reservation fee and, for AC classes, GST.
- The e-ticket arrives — SMS and email, with the PNR. That SMS on your phone plus one original photo ID is your ticket. Nothing needs printing.
The six things to decide before step 3
The booking form is easy. The trip fails on the decisions the form does not ask about.
- Which train, really. The fastest one may be the one that runs two hours late every week. The cheapest may have a waitlist that never clears.
- Which stations. Booking from the train’s origin, and changing your boarding point later, can move you from RLWL to GNWL — see the earlier-station guide.
- Which quota you qualify for. Women travelling alone, seniors, and people with disabilities have separate pools with their own availability — see the Ladies and Senior Citizen guides.
- Whether a waitlist is worth paying for. A GNWL 15 on a daily train probably is; a PQWL 15 probably is not. How to judge it.
- Whether the connection survives. If there are two trains, the gap between them has to absorb the first one’s usual delay. How much is enough.
- What it costs to be wrong. Cancellation charges by class and time are in this guide.
Questions people ask
Can I book a train ticket without an IRCTC account?
Not online. Every online booking runs on IRCTC, and partner apps also require you to link or create an IRCTC account. Counter tickets at a station need no account.
Which ID do I need to carry with an e-ticket?
Any one original photo ID from the railway’s list — Aadhaar, voter card, passport, driving licence, PAN card and others. One passenger on the PNR carrying an ID is enough for the whole booking.
Does YaatriGan book tickets?
No. YaatriGan tells you which train, class, quota and boarding station give the journey the best chance, and then hands you to the official channel to book.
Rules quoted here are Indian Railways’ published rules as we understand them on the date above. They change; the official channel’s page at the time you book is what governs. YaatriGan is independent and is not affiliated with Indian Railways or IRCTC.