Indian Railway is one of the largest and busiest railway networks in the world. It works very efficiently and provides fastest and affordable service of connectivity. For any train journey, reservation opens 4 months prior to the journey and many of the tickets get booked within a week’s time; especially during vacation period. Getting a confirmed tickets and predicting waitlist confirmation becomes easy when you know about different quotas in the railway reservation system.
Quotas are usually reserved amount of seats available in the train. These reserved seats are firstly divided on the basis of Location viz; Main Quota & Remote Location Quota.
• Main Quota
Main quota is for source station traveler. Almost 80% of the seats are reserved under it.
• Remote Location Quota
Remote locations are important halts on the train routes. There is separate quota of seats reserved for these stations to benefit passengers from that location. 20% of the seats are reserved under this. It is not necessary that every station on the route will be getting a remote location quota. Each train has different set of quota which can be zero, one, two or even more. So, each train should be checked separately to know about its quotas.
Now these main quotas and remote location quotas are further divided into different quotas which are as follows:
1. General Quota (GN)
This quota is mainly for common people. Almost 500 seats out of 800 seats will be available under this. A ticket can cancelled at any time before the journey to get the refund. A refund is made to the passengers after minor deductions.
2. Tatkal (CK)
This quota is for last minute traveler. If you want to go somewhere in emergency then you can still book the ticket and get a confirmed reservation after paying some extra charges on the base fare. Almost 100 out of 800 tickets are reserved under this quota. Tatkal quota reservation can be made 24 hours before the journey. No refund is made to passenger against cancellation of this ticket.
3. V.I.P Quota
This quota is reserved for important government officers, politician etc. 60 seats out of 800 seats is reserved for VIP quota.
4. Foreign Tourist Quota (FT)
This quota will typically get around 10 seats out of 800 in each train. A ticket can be book under this quota with valid foreign visa and passport. Only foreigners are allowed to book tickets under it. It is introduced mainly to encourage tourism. No additional fee is charged to book tickets under this quota.
5. Ladies Quota (LD)
This quota is for ladies travelling alone. About 6-10 seats in each train are reserved for you ladies.
6. Other Quota
There are several other quotas for handicapped, senior citizen, lower berth etc. which take 50 seats altogether.
Quotas are usually reserved amount of seats available in the train. These reserved seats are firstly divided on the basis of Location viz; Main Quota & Remote Location Quota.
• Main Quota
Main quota is for source station traveler. Almost 80% of the seats are reserved under it.
• Remote Location Quota
Remote locations are important halts on the train routes. There is separate quota of seats reserved for these stations to benefit passengers from that location. 20% of the seats are reserved under this. It is not necessary that every station on the route will be getting a remote location quota. Each train has different set of quota which can be zero, one, two or even more. So, each train should be checked separately to know about its quotas.
Now these main quotas and remote location quotas are further divided into different quotas which are as follows:
1. General Quota (GN)
This quota is mainly for common people. Almost 500 seats out of 800 seats will be available under this. A ticket can cancelled at any time before the journey to get the refund. A refund is made to the passengers after minor deductions.
2. Tatkal (CK)
This quota is for last minute traveler. If you want to go somewhere in emergency then you can still book the ticket and get a confirmed reservation after paying some extra charges on the base fare. Almost 100 out of 800 tickets are reserved under this quota. Tatkal quota reservation can be made 24 hours before the journey. No refund is made to passenger against cancellation of this ticket.
3. V.I.P Quota
This quota is reserved for important government officers, politician etc. 60 seats out of 800 seats is reserved for VIP quota.
4. Foreign Tourist Quota (FT)
This quota will typically get around 10 seats out of 800 in each train. A ticket can be book under this quota with valid foreign visa and passport. Only foreigners are allowed to book tickets under it. It is introduced mainly to encourage tourism. No additional fee is charged to book tickets under this quota.
5. Ladies Quota (LD)
This quota is for ladies travelling alone. About 6-10 seats in each train are reserved for you ladies.
6. Other Quota
There are several other quotas for handicapped, senior citizen, lower berth etc. which take 50 seats altogether.