Railways May Revise 60-Day Advance Ticket Booking Rule; Key Points Passengers Should Know

Indian Railways is reviewing the 60-day advance train ticket booking rule. Find out how this might affect you and how to plan your travel accordingly.

Effective November 1, 2024, the Railways reduced the advance ticket booking window from 120 days to 60 days. Consequently, passengers can now book reserved train tickets 60 days prior to their date of travel. Previously, bookings could be made up to 120 days in advance; however, this long duration often led to many people booking tickets only to cancel them later, which made it difficult for other passengers to secure confirmed seats. The Railways is now considering further reducing this booking window—potentially to less than 60 days.

According to media reports, the Railways is evaluating whether the current booking window should be shortened. Based on historical booking data and current passenger reservation trends, the window could potentially be reduced to 30–45 days.

If this proposal is approved, passengers will have a shorter timeframe (a smaller window) to plan their train journeys and book tickets in advance.

What should passengers keep in mind?

Passengers can book regular reserved tickets 60 days before the date of travel.

The day of travel is not included in the 60-day count.

Tickets can be booked via the IRCTC website, the mobile app, or at railway station ticket counters.

Different booking rules may apply to certain special trains.

The facility for foreign tourists to book tickets up to 365 days in advance remains in place.

Could ticket booking rules change again?

The Railways periodically reviews the rules governing ticket bookings. Changes may be made based on passenger needs and ticket booking data. However, there has been no official confirmation yet regarding any new changes to the current 60-day booking window.