Railway Reservation Rules: Indian Railways offers a special facility for booking train tickets. The advance booking period has been reduced from 90 days to 60 days, allowing passengers to book their tickets two months prior to their journey. Additionally, Indian Railways has implemented specific reservation rules for certain categories of travellers, including some who are permitted to book tickets up to one year—or 365 days—in advance. Let’s explore this in detail.
How to book tickets 365 days in advance?
Indian Railways provides the option to book train tickets 365 days in advance, a facility available to both Indian citizens and NRIs. According to these rules, both foreign nationals and Indian citizens can book their train tickets up to one year (365 days) before their intended date of travel. However, you must follow specific guidelines to make such bookings.
Conditions for booking tickets in advance
To book tickets 365 days in advance, foreign travellers must have a valid passport. Furthermore, when registering on the IRCTC portal, foreign travellers must provide an international mobile number and complete a verification process via an OTP (One-Time Password). It should be noted that this facility is not available for all travel categories; it is specifically applicable to First AC, 2AC, and Executive Class coaches.
Indian Railways introduced this facility for foreign travellers in 2017, and it has remained in effect since. The primary objective of this special provision is to enable foreign nationals to plan their travel a year in advance. This ensures they do not face difficulties in securing tickets and may also benefit from lower booking costs.