Tools / Train booking day

When does train booking open?

Popular trains in India and Bangladesh sell out within minutes of booking opening, especially around Eid, Durga Puja and Diwali. Enter your travel date to see the exact day and time booking opens, in local time and in your own time zone, and add a reminder.

Rules can change, and some trains and quotas have different windows. Check the official booking site before you rely on these times.

The rules we use

• Indian Railways: general booking opens 60 days before the travel date (not counting the travel date) at 8:00am India time, since 1 November 2024. Tatkal opens the day before travel: 10:00am for AC classes, 11:00am for non-AC. The foreign tourist quota opens 365 days ahead, and a few short-distance trains have shorter windows.
• Bangladesh Railway: online tickets open 10 days before the travel date on the official e-ticket site and the Rail Sheba app. The opening time is most often reported as 8:00am Bangladesh time; check on the day. Buy only from the official site or app.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Tatkal scheme
• Railwise: IRCTC booking window and LastBerth: 60-day ARP rules
• Bangladesh Railway official e-ticket site
• BD rail guide and railwayticket.bd: how to book