It is always good to check seat availability in a train (i.e. how many seats are available?) before booking train tickets online on IRCTC.

To perform railway ticket availability check, you need some or all of the following information:
  1. Train number or train name.
  2. Source and Destination Stations.
  3. Class of travel.
  4. Quota in which one wishes to find availability of seats inside the train.
  5. Date of Journey.
Rail seat availability status can be checked online on old railway website easily. Click here to check seat availability

But there are better ways to perform irctc train availability checks. Status can be checked both on mobile as well as personal computers/laptops/ desktops.

This video easily explains how to get the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) seat availability on next generation website.





The explanation of how to perform check of accommodation availability in railway is further discussed below:

Check Seat Availability of Trains On  NTES

National Train Enquiry System (NTES) is perhaps the easiest ways to make railway ticket availability check. It is an online railway inquiry system. You can also download its app. To know if seats are available in a train or not follow these steps:

  1. Go to train inquiry page here.
  2. From the top menu find 'seat availability' option.
  3. Enter your train number. You can also enter source, destination stations, and journey date.
  4. Click on 'Get availability' button.
That's it. You have successfully performed railway seat availability check.


Get Railway Seat Availability by SMS/Mobile

How to find seat availability of IRCTC by mobile? The answer is simple. You have to compose a new sms message in a format explained below. and send it to 54959 or at railway enquiry number 139.

irctc seat availability illustration picture
illustration of finding seat (berth) availability in trains by sms


Just compose a new message in your mobile phone as shown below -

 TRNAV TrainNo Source Destination DDMM Class and sms to 54959

and within seconds your will get to know the IRCTC seat availability status.

Rail Ticket Availability while Booking Train Tickets

When you book railway tickets on online train booking app like 'irctc rail connect' the availability is automatically displayed along with status. Which seats are available is displayed depending upon the travel class you have chosen for doing railway reservation.

The status could be Waiting List (WL), Reservation Against Cancellation  (RAC) i.e. you get seat only when someone else cancels his seat, and Confirmed (CF) means you get a confirmed seat.

It doesn't matter how many seats are available in a train, as per IRCTC railway rules you are allowed to book maximum of 6 tickets using your id in a month. Additionally, if you are booking a ticket under 'tatkal' only 4 passengers per PNR are allowed to be booked.

Good news is that now you can book up to 12 railway tickets in a month online, if you link your aadhaar with irctc account.

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post