[Gannu_1]

Guys, what’s the deal with the Premium Tatkal ticket? Have heard that the dynamic pricing of the premium tatkal ticket shoots the price to almost 5 times the regular pricing! But you get a confirmed ticket unlike the tatkal wherein we might still end up with a waitlisted ticket.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

Guys, what’s the deal with the Premium Tatkal ticket? Have heard that the dynamic pricing of the premium tatkal ticket shoots the price to almost 5 times the regular pricing! But you get a confirmed ticket unlike the tatkal wherein we might still end up with a waitlisted ticket.

Wow, if this is true then finally the Indian Rails are doing something sensible.
But the catch is that in case of AC travel 5 times the base fare will land up in air fare category, in which case it is better to take a plane and save your time.

[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Wow, if this is true then finally the Indian Rails are doing something sensible.
But the catch is that in case of AC travel 5 times the base fare will land up in air fare category, in which case it is better to take a plane and save your time.

I guess, it will be higher than airfare specially during non peak season for airlines.
For ex- Blr to delhi rajdhani normal fare (non-tatkal) is 4k including food. 3.5 k base fare. Multiple that by 5 times and you are talking 17.5 k.
Typical fare of airlines is 12 k at last minute booking.

[binand]

Originally Posted by pareshraheja

For ex- Blr to delhi rajdhani normal fare (non-tatkal) is 4k including food. 3.5 k base fare. Multiple that by 5 times and you are talking 17.5 k.
Typical fare of airlines is 12 k at last minute booking.

You are talking of the 1AC fare. The more common 3AC fare is usually a third of that. For example SBC-NDLS is Rs. 2000 in 3AC and Rs. 5000 in in 1AC.

Cleartrip is reporting today's evening non-stop flight fares starting at Rs. 21000.

[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by binand

You are talking of the 1AC fare. The more common 3AC fare is usually a third of that. For example SBC-NDLS is Rs. 2000 in 3AC and Rs. 5000 in in 1AC.

Cleartrip is reporting today's evening non-stop flight fares starting at Rs. 21000.

Oops my bad - i forgot to mention 2nd Ac.
On the flight fare - that's why I mentioned non-peak season for airlines.

Further, even for tatkal ticket we need to book a day in advance. By same parameters flight ticket will be at par if not cheaper than Rail ticket. Even if, flight is marginally more expensive, you save a lot of time.

In nut shell - the premium tatkal ticket is more viable against flight when going for short distance typically overnight

[ankan.m.blr]

Bangalore - Howrah 2AC ticket for 24-DEC-2014 is now priced at 11K per person on the premium train. The normal fare is around 3K per person. I thought of booking a flight ticket instead (normal fare around 6K). To my horror, flight tickets were priced minimum at 13.5K onwards and 23K per person for the 'prime hours'. Why is 24-DEC suddenly so expensive for travelers?

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by ankan.m.blr

Why is 24-DEC suddenly so expensive for travelers?

Christmas eve.

The airfares would skyrocket on the days before/after major holidays. Pretty normal considering the kind of rush we experience during these days.

/OT - I had booked a couple of tickets (last month) on the Indigo from Bombay to Coimbatore on the previous night for Rs. 6300/ticket. Both of us were pleasantly surprised!

[SILVERWOOD]

The new ''lite'' version of irctc website is great.Managed to book couple of tatkal tickets without any problems in last few weeks.

Waseem.....

[sdp1975]

Saw on TOI that the advance reservation period has been increased to 120 days in the rail budget. Not a good move IMO, but the railways will make more money from the increased cancellations.

[ghodlur]

There is no mention in the Railway budget about tackling the sudden exhaustion of the tickets opened for booking 60 days before the journey date and now if they increase it for 120 days it will be more cumbersome for the passengers. They would not book tickets with a hope that somebody cancels the booking in the next 4 months.

Surprising no new trains announced. Its was the favourite bunny for the predecessor Ministers to announce railways to their constituencies.

[faustus77]

Ghodlur/SDP
Hi.
When Laloo Prasad Yadav was the railway minister he too started 90 day advance booking. Subsequently it was scrapped and we reverted to the 60 days period.
This improved the cash flow as the railways would be able to use our money for a longer period.
Regards

[binand]

When will the IRCTC website reflect the new 120 days ARP rule, does anyone know?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by faustus77

When Laloo Prasad Yadav was the railway minister he too started 90 day advance booking. Subsequently it was scrapped and we reverted to the 60 days period.

After that, some dimwit had increased it to 120 days, only to revert back to 60 days. I wonder if they even learn something from past mistakes/experiences, now that they have again gone to 120 days just so that they can hold more of passenger's cash.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by binand

When will the IRCTC website reflect the new 120 days ARP rule, does anyone know?

The new rules will come into force once the budget is approved in both the RS and LS sessions. So probably from 1st April 2015.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

After that, some dimwit had increased it to 120 days, only to revert back to 60 days. I wonder if they even learn something from past mistakes/experiences, now that they have again gone to 120 days just so that they can hold more of passenger's cash.

It's not just holding of cash in advance, think about the revenue from cancellations.