INDIAN RAILWAY RULES FOR FOREIGNERS
Foreign Tourists (including NRIs) holding valid passport can avail Foreign Tourist Quota facility to book Indian Railway Tickets online using IRCTC eTicketing website. Details of Indian railway rules for foreigners in India. Following are the rules and conditions.
- Foreign Tourist Quota booking via IRCTC Website ~ Rules and Conditions
- Steps to avail Foreign Tourist Quota
- FAQ
Foreign Tourist Quota Booking via IRCTC Website ~ Rules and Conditions
In 2017 Ministry of Railway made some changes in the policy of Booking of Reserved Tickets by Foreign Tourists Online, now based on the feedback received, the scheme has been slightly modified. A revised scheme of Revised Policy of Booking of Reserved Tickets by Foreign Tourists Online, released on 24.04.2018.
Revised Scheme for Booking of Reserved Tickets by Foreign Tourists
- For booking the tickets the passport number, Nationality and the International Mobile No. of the passenger has to be mandatorily entered for generation of the ticket.
- All tickets are booked on applicable fare and no concession is admissible
- Payment is to be made only through International debit/Credit cards.
- An SMS confirming the reservation of the ticket is sent to the registered mobile number.
- The fare is uniformly charged at ✅ 1.5 time the base fare by Indian Railways and IRCTC collects enhanced charges of ✅ Rs.200/- per ticket.
- The passenger who has reserved the ticket under this category has to carry the original Passport (given at the time of booking ticket) with ✅ valid visa as identity proof and make it available for check during the journey.
- In case the passenger is not able to show the original Passport with valid visa, the passenger is treated as without ticket and charged penalty equivalent to ✅ 3 times the fare of the ticket and if passenger fails to pay the penalty, legal action will be taken against the passenger.
- Foreign tourists are allowed to register their demand up to ✅ 365 days in advance till the train is made open for booking as per advanced reservation period (ARP).
- The limit up to which the demand of foreign tourists is registered is as under:-
- Eight berths per FAC
- Four berths per FACCW
- Eight berths per 2A Coach
- Ten seats per EC coach
- Four berths per SC Coach
- Four berths per 3AC Coach
- Six seats per AC chair Class Coach
- Five seats per Second Class (reserved) Coach
- The demand is registered for all types of trains. The status on the ticket will be “Confirmed”. Coach/Seat/Berth Number will be allotted on the day of opening of reservation as per ARP except in case of Fist AC in which Coupe/ Cabin is allotted at the time of preparation of first reservation charts.
- As on the day of registering of requests, no train exists in the system, the composition of the train on that date is taken into account for allowing the number of berths/seats for which requests are registered e.g. beyond ARP, if there are 04 coaches of 2A in a train, then provision is made for registering 4*8 i.e. 32 passengers. In case on the day of opening of reservation as per ARP, the number of caches of that class varies, the number of berths/passengers allowed to be registered does not change.
- If class itself doesn’t exist once ARP opens, passengers will have to be manually allotted berths/seats in another class by database operation as is being done presently.
- The last request being registered is honoured even if the limit above has to be extended, however, beyond that no request is registered e.g. if the last request received is for 6 passengers and there is a scope for registering request for only 3 passengers, the above said limit is extended by 3 berths/ seats to accommodate the last request. However, thereafter, no more transaction is allotted in that class beyond ARP.
- In case of cancellation of the tickets booked under this facility by the passenger flat 50% of the fare is deducted in addition to the cancellation charges applicable while refunding the amount. The time limit for granting 50% refund is as per extant Refund rules i.e upto 4 hours before scheduled departure of train for confirmed PNRs. Part confirmed/ part waitlist will be given refund as per rule upto 30 minutes. This rule is applicable for e-tickets as well as counter tickets.
- ✅ No change of name is permissible on such tickets under any condition.
- Authorised ticketing agents are not allowed to book accommodation under Foreign Tourists Quota.
- On the day of opening of reservation as per ARP, the accommodation will be released for general booking after accommodating of such request is registered.
Foreign Tourist Quota within ARP
- This quota is defined by zonal railways based on demand pattern.
- Booking against this quota starts from the day of the opening of reservation on the train as per ARP.
- Accommodation against this quota can be booked within ARP on payment of 1.5 times the base fare.
- For booking across the counter through FT Quota within ARP, ✅ payment is accepted through any type of mode i.e. Indian Currency/National/ International Credit/Debit cards. Foreign nationals booking berths under general quota can book ticket on normal fare.
- The accommodation under this quota is allowed to be booked up to the limit of foreign tourist quota defined by the Railways subject to the condition that the last party is accommodation in general quota if partial accommodation is available under foreign tourist quota. The ✅ fare for the entire party in such cases is 1.5 times the base fare.
- If foreign tourists quota is exhausted, the system will ✅ not automatically book in GN quota, the passenger has to explicitly book in General quota on payment of the normal fare.
- ✅ No waiting list tickets are issued except in case the last request for foreign tourist quota is more than the quota and there is no accommodation available in general quota at the time of booking.
- The unutilised accommodation under foreign tourist quota is released to ✅ RAC/ waiting list passengers at the time of preparation of first reservation chart.
Foreign Tourist (FT) Quota Ticket Booking : General Terms and Condition
- The ticket can be booked by the Foreign Tourist well in advance i.e upto 365 days through the internet (e-ticket).
- Allowed to book the accommodation in Executive Class(EC)/1st AC/2nd AC/3rd AC/CC/SL/2S Class in all the trains (FT Booking not allowed in Suvidha train) including Shatabdi, Rajdhani, Durontno, Gatimaan, etc. For which fare shall be uniformly charged at 1.5 times of normal fare by Indian Railways.
- IRCTC Enhanced Service Charge for ticket booking in FT quota is ✅ Rs. 200 + Service Tax as applicable, per ticket.
- Payment shall be made only through International Debit/Credit cards.
- For booking the ticket the Passport number and Nationality of the passenger has to be mandatorily entered for the generation of the ticket.
- An SMS confirming the reservation of the ticket will be sent to the registered mobile number of users.
- The passenger who has reserved the ticket under FT quota has to carry the original Passport (given at the time of ticket) with valid Visa as identity proof and make it available during the journey. In case the passenger is not able to show the original passport with a valid visa, the passenger shall be treated as without ticket and charged a penalty equivalent to 3 times the fare of ticket and if passengers fail to pay the penalty, legal action will be taken against the passenger. All passengers booked on a ticket are required to carry their original passport & Visa separately.
- In case of cancellation of tickets booked under FT quota by the passenger flat 50% of the fare shall be deducted in addition to the cancellation charges as applicable while refunding the amount. The time limit for granting 50% refund shall be as per extant rules i.e upto 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, through the website only.
- The berth under existing Foreign Tourist Quota (FT) shall be booked on 1.5 times of the normal fare.
- For child travelling without a berth, the fare will be charged as per rules i.e. half of the adult base fare which in case of FT will be equal to 1.5 times of the normal base fare.
- Cancellation rules for WL and RAC tickets issued under FT quota will remain same as GN Quota rules. Cancellation charges for WL/RAC will remain same as that of General Waitlist passengers as accommodation is not provided.
- For the ticket booked beyond Advance Reservation Period (ARP), berth shall be allotted on the opening of ARP.
- No concession is allowed in FT Quota ticketing booking.
- No change of name shall be permissible on FT quota ticket under any circumstances.
- Agents are not allowed to book tickets under FT quota.
- I-ticket booking is not allowed under FT quota.
- Boarding point change is allowed only within ARP period ie. after allocation of seat/berth.
- ERS printing is allowed only within ARP period i.e after allocation of seat berth.
- Travel insurance is not allowed for FT quota booking.
- VIKALP facility not allowed for FT quota booking.
Steps to avail Foreign Tourist Quota
Login Stage
New Users : New users are required to register on the website www.irctc.co.in.
Old users : Old Foreign and NRI users are required to Update and verify their mobile number through Update profile option on IRCTC e-Ticketing website.
Mobile verification : Using Update profile option on IRCTC e-Ticketing website, Foreign Tourists and NRIs should first submit and verify International mobile number in their profile. To verify the provided mobile number, an OTP will be sent. User must submit the received OTP to complete the verification process.
Ticket Booking Methods
- After successful log in select “Foreign Tourist Ticket Booking” link under “Trains”, option of IRCTC eTicketing website.
- User can book tickets under Foreign Tourist Quota upto 365 days in advance.
- ✅ Available classes of travel under Foreign Tourist Quota are Executive Class (EC), 1st AC (1A) and 2nd AC (2A).
- User has to provide valid Passport Number of each passenger at the time of booking tickets.
- All SMS communications from IRCTC will be sent on mobile number submitted and verified by user
- while updating profile.
- For payment of ticket booking amount, User has the option to make payment using International Debit/Credit card.
- After successful payment and booking of ticket, Booking SMS and confirmation mail will be sent on registered mobile number and e-mail id respectively.
Charges
- Registration Charge: Registration / profile updation (mobile number) fee for International /NRI User is Rs. ✅ 100 + GST.
- Convenience fee: There is a Convenience fee of ✅ ₹200 + GST per ticket booked in addition to Rail Ticket fare under Foreign Tourist Quota through IRCTC eTicketing website.
Cancellation
- In case of cancellation by User, 50% of the fare shall be deducted in addition to the cancellation charges. Time limits for cancellation of tickets booked online are as per extant rules set by Indian Railway.
- In case berth is not allotted by Railway PRS system, ticket will be automatically cancelled and Cancellation SMS / Email with details will be sent to the user on registered mobile number / email id respectively.
Failed Transactions
- If booking amount has been debited from customer’s bank account and ticket was not issued, IRCTC will refund the ✅ entire Fare and IRCTC convenience fee electronically (as credit to the relevant credit /debit card account used for the transaction).
Refunds
- Refunds amount if any, will be ✅ credited only in the account which was used for ticket booking.
- IRCTC’s payment reconciliation team works on a 24 x 7 basis, IRCTC offers no guarantees whatsoever for the accuracy or timeliness of the refunds reaching the Customers card/bank accounts. This is on account of the multiplicity of organizations involved in processing of online transactions, the problems with Internet infrastructure currently available and working days/holidays of financial institutions.
- All refund will be processed as per extant Railway Refund Rules.
Steps to avail Foreign Tourist Quota ~ Download
Assistance Cells :- Major Reservation centres have special cells to help foreign tourists plan their itinerary, reserve their ticket and render any assistance required.
The International Tourist Bureau :- It is situated on the first floor of New Delhi Railway Station provides personalised services and assistance to foreign tourists and NRIs regarding reservations, itinerary planning and other enquiries. This Bureau is manned by trained staff and tourist guides, fluent in foreign language.
FAQs
✅ What is FT quota in Indian Railways?
FT Quota is Foreign Tourists Quota
✅ What is Foreign Quota?
Several luxury trains under Indian Railway have a special quota for foreign tourists. This can be availed on payment of US Dollars or Pound Sterling. Tourists without foreign currency, will be allotted the special quota on production of the exchange certificates issued by an nationalised bank.
✅ Can we book IRCTC ticket from outside India?
IRCTC permit other international credit and debit cards issued outside the country for booking of e-tickets.
✅ Can I book two train tickets under FT Quota?
One person can book only two tickets during the opening hours between 8am and 10 am.
✅ Can I book ticket without IRCTC account?
No, Have to register first with proper email Id and Phone Number
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