Catering to millions of people and handling different priorities and choices of people every day is not an easy task. Yet, the Indian Railways have always excelled in this field. The railways take care of the priorities and choices of different people by introducing various types of quotas. Each quota favours people from a specific category to ensure a smooth process while booking train tickets.
Here is the IRCTC quotas list with prominent ones.
Quota is a system of IRCTC where they reserve some train seats for people of certain categories specified by the guidelines. Most of these quotas are available online while there are a few that are exclusively available at the ticket counters at the stations. Even with the quota system, the train seat availability under some quotas may still be subjective.
The most significant ones on the railway quotas list are detailed below.
The Defense Quota reserves two seats each for defence personnel in all coaches in all trains. Tickets under this category must be through the Movement Control Office at the ticket counters.
This is open only to the railway staff who are travelling for their duty. Once their seats are filled further bookings under this category will have a separate waiting list.
This is a category open to all foreign tourists and NRIs who can reserve a seat in AC coaches 365 days before the scheduled time. Ticket charges here will be 1.5 times the base rate. Most express trains offer this facility.
The general quota is open to all citizens and tickets will be available 120 days before the departure date. Once the seats are filled, further bookings will be listed under the order of RAC, General Waiting List, RNWL, PQWL, RLWL, RQWL, etc. Once the IRCTC chart preparation is complete, you must check the ticket status. Tickets still on the waiting list are not valid to travel and will be automatically cancelled.
Both these quotas are for higher railway officials, MPs, ministers, etc who can book a ticket just hours before the scheduled time. HO also applies to MLAs, while the PH is exclusive to the parliament members and staff.
As the name suggests, this quota caters to women travelling alone or with minors under the age of 12. Only 6 seats are available under this quota in sleeper and seater coaches. This option is available for women of any age by selecting the option from the drop-down list when booking online.
The lower berth quota reserves a particular number of seats in a coach or the train for male seniors of age 60 or above, female senior citizens of age 58 or above, women above the age of 45 and pregnant ladies. This quota is available when they are travelling alone and when two senior citizens are travelling together in the same PNR.
Renamed as Divyanjan Quota, it reserves seats for physically handicapped people. As per this quota, two seats are reserved for people under this category. They may get a seat for one escort as well. Under this quota, the lower berth will be for the handicapped and the middle berth for the escort will be provided. They can also get concessions based on their disability.
Tatkal Quota is open to booking last-minute seat reservations for all. The booking window under this category opens at 10 am for AC seats and 11 am for non-AC seats on the day before the scheduled departure. You can book the tickets through the IRCTC login. There are a limited number of tickets under this quota and no RAC. The bookings will go to the TQWL when the seats are filled. You are not allowed to travel with a ticket on the waiting list.
Premium tatkal quota is one step ahead of the TQ. Tickets under this category have a higher and dynamic price that fluctuates with the demand. There are even fewer tickets under the premium category. The other rules are the same as TQ.
These railway quotas list shows the efficiency of the Indian Railways, which is doing its best to find ways to cater to as many people as possible. Please remember that early booking is the best way to ensure ticket availability, even with the quota system.
No, quotas are just for the convenience of booking and to ensure seat availability. There are no cancellation charges applied here.
Checking the PNR status of a ticket booked under any quota will be the same. Just go to the IRCTC app or another third-party app and type in the PNR number to get the status.
No, the husband cannot book under the Ladies Quota. However, children under the age of 12 can, provided she is the only adult with them.
The current reservation facility is not a quota-based system. You can check the seat availability of each train in general and proceed to book the tickets.
No, you cannot find your seats booked under any quota system. You can use the app only to track the train running status or find the coach position.