Indian Railways and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation have announced that advance ticket bookings for travel on November 6, 2026, will commence on September 7, 2026, at 8:00 AM IST. This booking window is intended to facilitate travel for passengers heading home for the Chhoti Diwali and Diwali festive period, with the main Diwali festival falling on November 8, 2026. Passengers planning their festive journeys can now mark their calendars and prepare for the upcoming rush. To ensure a seamless booking experience, passengers are advised to log into their IRCTC accounts by 7:45 AM IST, which is 15 minutes prior to the opening of the general quota. Travelers are strongly encouraged to utilize the Master List feature on the IRCTC portal to keep passenger details and preferred payment methods prepared in advance. Indian Railways notes that advance reservation follows a standard 60-day period.
For travelers who might miss the initial advance reservation window, Tatkal bookings for November 6 travel will open on November 5, 2026.
AC class Tatkal tickets will be available starting at 10:00 AM IST, while Sleeper and 2S classes will open at 11:00 AM IST. Please note that Tatkal reservations require mandatory Aadhaar verification, and First AC class is completely excluded from the Tatkal quota. Furthermore, passengers should keep in mind that confirmed Tatkal tickets are strictly non-refundable. Under current railway policies, cancellation charges apply based on specific timeframes:
a full refund minus a flat fee is provided if cancelled more than 72 hours before departure, with a 25% deduction applied between 24 and 72 hours, a 50% deduction between 8 and 24 hours, and zero refund provided for cancellations within 8 hours of scheduled departure. Fortunately, ticket rescheduling remains available without cancellation fees for confirmed online tickets as long as the origin and destination stations remain identical.
To manage the exceptionally high passenger demand during the Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath festive season, Indian Railways is also introducing a series of festival special trains.
Key routes operating special services include New Delhi-Danapur, Ayodhya Cantt-Anand Vihar Terminal, Varanasi-Anand Vihar Terminal, Mumbai Central–Katihar, Dibrugarh-Kolkata, and Kanpur Central-Guwahati. Passengers are advised to check the IRCTC website or mobile app for timely updates on special train schedules, seat availability, and fare details to ensure a hassle-free journey home.
