New Delhi: While booking reserved tickets through the website of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation(IRCTC), passengers can book tickets under General Quota, Ladies Quota, Foreign Tourist Quota, Premium Tatkal Quota, Tatkal Quota, Senior Citizen Quota, and Physically Handicapped (Divyangjan) Quota.
In addition to the above quotas, accommodation can also be allotted under Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) & Pooled Quota while booking reserved tickets through website of IRCTC.
These reservation quotas constitute approximately 94% of total reserved accommodation available on Indian Railways, which can be booked both through internet as well as through computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) of Indian Railways.
To avoid any misuse, this facility is generally not extended for those quotas which require prior physical verification of documents. However, recently this facility has been extended to persons with disability, Press correspondents and Defence Personnel. Extension of such facilities to different categories of passengers is a continuous and ongoing exercise.
With a view to cater to requirements of different categories of passengers served by Indian Railways, available reserved accommodation is distributed broadly under following types of reservation quotas:
General: Available for General Public
Tatkal: General Public
Premium Tatkal: General Public
Parliament House: Hon’ble Members of Parliament (Sitting and Former)
Ladies: Female passenger travelling alone or in a group of female passengers
Senior Citizen: Combined quota for senior citizens, female passengers above 45 years and pregnant women
Foreign Tourist: Foreigners
Defence: Defence Personnel
Roadside: General Public
Pooled: General Public
Cancer Patient: Cancer Patients
RAC(Reservation Against Cancellation): General Public
Physically Handicapped: Divyangjan
Duty Pass: Serving/retired Railway employees travelling on Duty/Privilege/Post retirement complimentary passes etc. in specified trains
Railway Employees: Designated Railway employees travelling on Duty in trains
Yuva: Unemployed persons between the age of 15 and 45
Emergency: Urgent travel requirement of High Official Requisition (HOR) holders, Members of Parliament, and general public