How much IRCTC charge for booking train tickets? We know that in order to do online booking of train tickets in India, you need to use Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) online ticketing system.

While there are apps of authorized railway agents for doing railway reservation on internet, still the  'irctc next generation e-ticket booking system' is the most trusted online railway ticket booking system in India.

irctc charges


But are there any charges for booking online train tickets (e-tickets) in India? Is it free or if it isn't  how much is it? What my train ticket will cost if I do booking online?

We are answering all of the above questions here:

First of all, when you do railway ticket booking on www.irctc.co.in, the railway booking website i.e. IRCTC charges you service fees.

IRCTC charges


If paying using BHIM UPI based applications like  Paytm/ PhonePe you will be charged convenience fee of Rs 10 for Non-AC booking and Rs 20 for AC class ticket booking.

On using other payment options like internet banking and credit/ debit cards, following charges are applicable:
  • Rs 15 for booking each NON AC class ticket (sleeper, first class, 2nd sitting).
  • Rs 30 for booking all AC class tickets (AC 1 tier/ AC 2 tier/ AC 3 tier,  Executive class, AC economy class, AC chair car).
  • If you are travelling as group and booking seats/coaches under FTR (Full Tariff Scheme), extra 5% will be charged on total fare.
The cost of your train ticket, when booked online, goes up a bit because it includes charges levied by IRCTC for railway reservation. The actual amount you pay when you do online train ticket booking is as per following formula:

Total cost of Train ticket booked on IRCTC = Base Fare of Train + IRCTC service charges +  Bank Transaction charges + Swachh Bharat Cess (see Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) + GST.

While the railway reservation charges are simple, when you go to cancellation of train tickets on IRCTC, the charges are varied depending on various circumstances, like status of your train ticket.


For couple of years IRCTC waived of booking charges in order to promote digital india initiative  of govt. of India, but know it is back with new service charges.

e-ticket: a railway ticket booked online on irctc.co.in and for which amount is payed online as well.

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