From the existing 7 days, the Advance Reservation Period (ARP) of these Special AC trains will be increased to 30 days. For these Special AC trains, there will be no Tatkal booking facility.

IRCTC special trains new ticket booking rules: With effect from 12 May 2020, Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways has been running 15 pairs of special air-conditioned train services. Besides, the national transporter is also operating several Shramik Special trains from 1 May 2020 onwards. Recently, in addition to these trains, the Railway Ministry also made an announcement to run as many as 200 non-AC train services with effect from June 1. However, for the convenience of the passengers, the ministry has decided to revise certain ticket booking rules of the 15 pairs of Special AC trains.

For these Special AC trains, there will be no Tatkal booking facility.

In these special trains, RAC / Waiting list train tickets will be issued as per extant instructions applicable. However, as per extant instructions, waitlisted passengers will not be allowed to board these AC Special trains.

Unlike the earlier practice of 30 minutes, the first chart will be generated at least four hours before the train’s scheduled departure and the second chart will be generated at least two hours before the train’s scheduled departure. The current booking facility for these trains will be allowed in between the first and second charts.

The tickets for the Special trains can be booked through computerized PRS counters including Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK) licensees, Post Offices, etc. Besides, ticket booking can also be done online including through authorized agents of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) as well as Common Service Centres.

According to the ministry, these revised ticket booking rules will be in effect from train booking date 24 May and for trains starting date of 31 May onwards.