If you have an Android or iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) powered mobile device and would like to know how to book Train Tickets on your mobile, then this step-by-step guide explains well how to do so.

  1. If you are using an Android powered mobile or tablet device, then download IRCTC Connect (official application from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) using this page (Play Store) and install it. Keep in mind that the application is compatible with only those devices that are using Android 4.1 and above.
    IRCTC Connect

    And if your are using an iOS powered mobile device, then download IRCTC Connect from this page. Keep in mind that the application will work only on iOS 7.0 or later.

  2. Once the application has been successfully installed on your device, open it and you will be presented with following login screen:
    IRCTC App login screen

    If you already have an IRCTC account then enter your username and password and tap on login button to proceed further. Before logging in, if you’d like the application to remember your password, so that you don’t have to type your password again and again every time you open it, then check the box in front of Remember me and then tap on login button.

    In case you do not have an IRCTC account then you need to tap on Register button and the application will ask you to enter following details:

    Registration screen on IRCTC App
    • Login username: Try to enter something unique and easy to remember in this field.
    • Your active email address: Enter your email address accurately because all your transaction related emails will be sent to this address only.
    • Mobile number: Make sure that you enter your mobile number correctly as your ticket related SMSs will be sent to this number only.
    • Your first and last name.
    • Your Gender.
    • Your address (House number, street name, landmark etc.)
    • Your city.
    • Select your state from the drop down menu.
    • Enter your Pin code.
    • Select a security question of your choice from the drop down menu and enter your answer for it.

    Tap the check box in front of Accept the Terms and Conditions (feel free to read them also) and then tap on Register button. The server will now process your request and you will be able to login to your newly created IRCTC account in the next step.

  3. Once you are logged in successfully, the application will ask you to enter/select following details:
    Viewing Train details in IRCTC App
    • Your source and destination station: If you know your station code, then enter it directly in the field provided. Else you can make use of search function built within the application. For example, the station code for New Delhi is NDLS, MAS for Chennai Central, HWH for Howrah Junction, NGP for Nagpur etc.
    • Your date of journey: While writing this post you can select your Journey date within the next 90 days (3 months).
    • Your preferred quota which can be either General or Tatkal.

    Now tap on the search button and the application will start searching for trains based on your entered/selected details:

    Searching for trains with IRCTC App
  4. The immediate next page will show you a list of all the trains which are running from the source station/city to the destination station/city on your selected date:
    Train list as viewed on IRCTC App

    Note: A city can have multiple stations and all those stations are included in the train list. For example, there are 2 big station at New Delhi viz. NDLS and NZM (Hajrat Nizamuddin). Now when you are searching for trains if you select your source/destination station as NDLS, the search results will include NZM too.

  5. For a particular train if you tap on the Vertical dotted line in front of its name, you will be able to see its full route map (list of all the stations where the train is going to halt and halt duration) and fare breakup:
    View the route map or fare breakup on IRCTC App
  6. Tap on the name of the train in which you want to travel and the application will ask you to select your preferred travel class viz. Sleeper (SL), 3rd AC (3A), 2nd AC (2A) etc. Tap on the name of any class and the application will show you total number of seats available in that particular class:
    Checking availability on IRCTC App

    Depending on the availability of seats in a particular class you may also see the class’s availability status as REGRET, Waiting List, RAC, NA (Charting Done) etc.

  7. If seats are available in a particular class or you want to book your ticket under WL/RAC, then tap on Available/WL/RAC icon and you are required to enter/select following details on the next page:
    Viewing passenger details on IRCTC App
    • Add passenger: You are required to enter name of the passengers, their age, gender and berth preference which can be Lower (LB), Upper (UB), Middle (MB), Side Upper (SU) or Side Lower (SL).
    • Add child: When you tap on add child button, the application will ask you to enter child’s name, his/her age and gender. Keep in mind that there is no need to book a ticket for children who are below 5 years of age.
    • Preferences: Under preferences you can select your boarding point, whether you want IRCTC to consider for auto upgradation and your reservation choice (None, Book only if at least 1 lower berth is allotted, Book only if 2 lower berths are allotted and Book only if all the berths are allotted in same coach).
    • Mobile number: This is generally fetched from your profile page, but you can always enter some other number of your choice.

    Once you have entered above mentioned details, tap on Book button and the next page will show you your payment summary which includes details about your ticket fare and IRCTC service charges:

    Payment Summary as shown by IRCTC App

    Before proceeding any further you are required to enter a CAPTCHA code on this page correctly. Once you have entered the code correctly, tap on Make payment button and you will proceed to next step.

  8. The next step will ask you to select your preferred payment method which can be either one of the following:
    Payment methods as supported by IRCTC App
    • Credit card: Supports Visa, MasterCard and American Express (AMEX) credit cards.
    • Debit card: Supports popular ATM-cum-debit cards like SBI ATM-cum-debit card, ICICI, Union Bank of India, CITI Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Andhra Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of India.
    • Net Banking: Supports popular banks like HDFC, SBI, Indusind etc.
    • Cash cards: Supports I Cash Card, ITZ Cash Card and Oxi Cash.

    Depending on your selected payment method, you are required to enter your payment related details on the next page. Suppose you have selected credit/debit card for making payment for your travel. In such a case you are required to enter your card number, card expiry date, CVV number and name as displayed/printed on your card.

    Once you have entered your payment related information correctly, Tap on submit button and the payment gateway/bank will verify your details. If the details entered by you are correct, then you will be able to see your ticket on the next page:

    Saving ERS for future reference

    If you see a Save ERS button at the bottom of your ticket, then tap on it and the application may save the ticket on your mobile device, which can be accessed either via the Gallery/Photo application of your mobile or using some third-party file manager software.

Important notes:

  • If your transaction fails or if it’s successful, IRCTC will send you email under both the cases.
  • Your ticket(s) and transaction related details will be available also at: https://www.irctc.co.in/ – All you need to do is to login there and go to your Transaction History.
  • If you get a payment error which says: You were trying to use XXXXXXXX payment gateway and the transaction could not proceed due to NOT. We regret that the payment for the transaction under reference number XXXXXXX was not authorised by your bankers and hence we are not in a position to process the booking – This means that you have entered wrong payment related information or your payment method is not working at all due to some technical glitch. In this case you need to start over and re-plan your travel.
  • If money has been deducted from your account, but you don’t see your ticket either on your mobile device or on irctc.co.in, then don’t worry as IRCTC will be refunding your money after few days.
  • The application also allow you to Cancel your train tickets using your mobile. For this all you need to do is to head over to Cancel Ticket tab within the mobile application.
  • Whenever you tap on any Wait-listed/RAC ticket, the application will automatically fetch the latest PNR status for that particular ticket.
  • In case of any query or concern you should contact IRCTC, not us.