How to Book Train Tickets With IRCTC Using SMS

Our government is going increasingly digital and with mobile penetration and number of smartphone users in India skyrocketing, it’s getting easier than ever to do things online or via our phones. The catch is that most people don’t actually know you can do all this so easily – and that’s why we are trying to help our readers find out about different government services that are now online, and showing you how to use them.

This week, we look at how to book a train ticket from IRCTC via SMS. The Indian Railways’ IRCTC website is the source of frustration for so many people that no one bats an eyelid when the site doesn’t work properly, although recent updates have improved things a little. If you’re trying to book a ticket on the website, but find that the portal is down or if your Internet is down, you can easily book tickets offline. No, we don’t mean that you have to go to the nearest railway station to book a ticket, but booking tickets via SMS. Booking via text message is hassle-free, but know that your carrier will charge you for each SMS you send. We were charged Rs. 3 per SMS when we tried booking tickets via SMS, but that’s a small price to pay for the convenience. Here’s how to do it.

The first thing you need is an IRCTC account. You can create it here. Make sure that the phone number you register with IRCTC matches the phone number that your bank has, otherwise this will not work.

You also need to check if your bank supports IMPS (Immediate Payment Service). If you have an ICICI Bank account then you don’t need IMPS, and can jump to step 8. You can check if your bank supports IMPS here. You will need IMPS to authorise payments via SMS.

If your bank supports IMPS (almost all banks do), then you’ll need to call them to generate an MMID or do it on the bank website. This process varies by the bank, so we suggest you check it with your bank. As an example, HDFC Bank’s process is described here.

Note down the MMID and the one-time password (OTP) sent by the bank.

Now you’re ready to book your ticket. You need to send a text message to 139. The format of the message should be

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Nine Simple Tips to Make Your IRCTC Experience a Little Bit Less Painful

Booking a train ticket on IRCTC is a rite of passage. It’s one of India’s leading e-commerce destinations, and it’s quite a quaint thing, once you really dig into all the pages and get to know the names of the servers. Despite the fact feels like you’re stepping into an Internet time machine dialled back to 2000, the service works, and there’s no avoiding it when you need to book a train ticket.

The first thing you need to know, are the rules, and they are vast and numerous. Do you know the rules of a Tatkal ticket, all the classes available, the difference between a sleeper and a seater, the best trains to take, and what your chances are of booking a ticket? Good. Here’s a quick refresher course that will greatly enhance your odds of having a ‘Shubh Yatra’ when using IRCTC to book a train ticket or any of other related services that it offers.

1) Plan your journey ahead of time
This one is pretty basic, but you can greatly improve your chances of getting a reserved ticket by booking at the earliest available time slot. Train tickets are usually available 120 days in advance, and there’s a website called Ticketdate that lets you calculate the earliest booking window, based on the kind of train you’re taking. Some trains have a 10 and 30 day advance booking, and then there are Tatkal tickets, which cost a premium but open up a day before the date of travel.

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