The Indian Railways has revised the Tatkal scheme to provide for lower fares during the off-season, and allowed refunds under special circumstances. The revised scheme, available in all mail and express trains, will be operational from mid-November.
It has also decided to make Tatkal seats available as part of the normal train service, rather than attaching Tatkal coaches to trains. The Tatkal seats will, therefore, be earmarked as a quota from among the total seats available.
Four berths per coach will be reserved for Tatkal in the AC-2 class, 6 berths per coach in the AC-3 class and 6 seats per coach in AC chair cars.
In the sleeper class, 10 per cent of the accommodation or one coach, whichever is less, will be earmarked for accommodation under this scheme. Bookings will be done on a first-come-first-served basis.
Utilisation of berths under the scheme will be periodically reviewed and reduced if necessary, based on actual utilisation.