Can you book a group's train tickets on your own IRCTC account?
Short answer: your own family and friends, yes. A school tour, a wedding party or an office group of other people, no. A personal IRCTC ID is capped at 12 tickets a month, its terms forbid commercial use, and procuring tickets for others without authorisation is an offence under the Railways Act. This page sets out the rules with dates, and what an IRCTC-authorised agent does instead.
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Four rules every group organiser should know
- 1
Family and friends on your own ID: allowed
In June 2024 a rumour said IRCTC would only let you book people with your surname. Indian Railways answered in writing: a personal ID can book tickets for family and friends, any surname. That has not changed.
- 2
12 tickets a month, 24 with Aadhaar
A personal IRCTC ID can make 12 bookings a month, or 24 if the ID is Aadhaar-linked and at least one passenger on the booking is Aadhaar-verified. Each booking holds six passengers, four on Tatkal. A tour of 200 needs 34 bookings in one morning. No personal ID can do that.
- 3
Personal IDs are not for other people's bookings
IRCTC's terms say a personal ID is for personal use and forbid commercial use. Railways' statement said tickets booked on personal IDs are not for sale. A coordinator collecting money from 200 parents or 100 employees and booking them from staff IDs is outside personal use, even with no profit.
- 4
Section 143: an offence, not a terms breach
Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989 makes it an offence to carry on the business of procuring and supplying railway tickets without authorisation: up to three years in jail, a fine up to ₹10,000, or both. On 9 January 2025 the Supreme Court held that this covers e-tickets booked online, and restored a case against a man who sold tickets from many IDs. The same judgment said the section punishes unauthorised agents, not authorised ones.
Every fare is public. Why do groups still book through an agent?
IRCTC and the station reservation counter give everyone the same screen and the same fares. What they do not give is a person who answers for the result.
What you can do yourself
On IRCTC, or at the station reservation counter
- See every train, every class, the fare and the current availability.
- Book up to six passengers on one ticket, four on Tatkal.
- From your own ID: your family and friends, up to 12 tickets a month, 24 with Aadhaar.
- At the counter: one form per six passengers, one queue, cash or card, no written plan.
- Watch your own waiting list until the chart, and work out the refund yourself if it fails.
What we do
What an IRCTC-authorised agent does that neither can
The part you are paying a service charge for
- A person reads the quota, the train and the date before you pay, and says what will confirm and what will not.
- Books a group of any size lawfully: agent credentials, many bookings in one sitting, no personal-ID cap, the whole list in at 8:00 AM the morning your date opens.
- One list in, every PNR back, coach by coach, with teachers, elders or the team kept together where the train allows.
- Both legs handled together, so the return is never the ticket nobody got.
- Watches every waiting list until the chart and moves passengers if a plan is needed.
- Confirmed berth or 100% refund, passenger by passenger, and a GST invoice for the institution.
- Answers on WhatsApp at eleven at night, the day before, when the counter is shut.
That is why a licensed desk exists next to a free website: not for the fare, which is the same, but for the result.
The rule on personal IRCTC accounts
- Your own family and friends: allowed. Indian Railways said so in writing in June 2024. Any name, any surname, on your own ID.
- A group of other people: not allowed. A personal IRCTC ID is for personal use. It is capped at 12 tickets a month, 24 if Aadhaar-linked, and IRCTC's terms forbid commercial use. A school, a company or a wedding planner booking 200 other people from staff IDs is outside that.
- Selling or procuring tickets for others without authorisation is an offence. Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989: up to three years in jail, a fine up to ₹10,000, or both. The Supreme Court confirmed in January 2025 that it covers e-tickets. Authorised agents are the lawful route; that is what the authorisation is for.
Rail Yatri Suvidha Kendra is an IRCTC-authorised agent and an Indian Railways-licensed YTSK desk.How to check that →Checked 2 November 2026.
The station counter
Why the reservation counter cannot book a big group either
- One reservation form per six passengers, filled by hand, in a queue that opens at 8:00 AM with everyone else's.
- No one reads the quota for you or says whether a waiting list will clear; the clerk books what you wrote.
- The railway's own group booking is a separate application at the reservation office with a letter, a list and proof, each zone with its own cap, and zone rules say an agent cannot apply for you. It exists; almost no group uses it.
- No written plan, no WhatsApp, no one to call at ten at night when a passenger drops out.
Before you pay anyone
How to check that an agent is authorised
- Ask whether the desk books on IRCTC agent credentials, not a personal ID. An authorised agent's tickets show the agent's details, and the booking fee is the one IRCTC fixes for agents.
- Ask for the plan in writing before any money: the train, the class, what will confirm, the full amount, railway fare plus service charge.
- Ask for a GST invoice for the institution or company. A desk that cannot issue one is not running a business you want 200 passengers on.
- Ask what happens if a berth does not confirm. Ours is confirmed berth or 100% refund — rac doesn't count.
Send us the group's flight quote. Get the train quote in two hours.
Most groups are quoted a flight first. Put the train next to it before anyone pays.
Groups of 100 to 1,000 passengers: one list in, every PNR back, one GST invoice.
We reply in writing within two hours, in working hours, with the train cost for the same group, class by class.
- Your own flight figures. The site stores nothing.
- The train quote shows the class, the train and the total for the whole group.
- Confirmed berth or 100% refund, passenger by passenger.
Compare your group's flight quote
Type in the quote you have. We reply in writing with the train cost for the same group.
Add the headcount and the quote a head to see your flight total.
Nothing is saved on this website. Your figures go only into your WhatsApp message to us.
What our customers say
“Waitlisted ticket got confirmed two days before travel. They actually followed up — rare these days.”
“Helpful agents, explained my PNR honestly instead of overpromising. Will use again.”
Questions people ask
Is it illegal to book train tickets for someone else on my IRCTC account?+
No, for family and friends. Indian Railways confirmed in June 2024 that a personal ID can book tickets for family and friends, any surname. It becomes an offence under Section 143 of the Railways Act when someone procures tickets for others as a business or for a fee, and a breach of IRCTC's terms when a personal ID is used commercially.
Can a teacher book the whole school tour from their own IRCTC ID?+
Not lawfully, and not practically. The ID is capped at 12 or 24 tickets a month, six passengers each, and the students are not the teacher's family and friends. Tours are booked through an IRCTC-authorised agent on agent credentials, or by the institution applying to the railway's own group booking at the reservation office.
How many tickets can one IRCTC account book in a month?+
12, or 24 if the account is Aadhaar-linked and at least one passenger on the booking is Aadhaar-verified. Railway Board raised the limits to these figures in 2025. Each ticket holds up to six passengers, four on Tatkal.
What does an IRCTC-authorised agent do that IRCTC itself does not?+
Reads the quota and tells you what will confirm before you pay, books a group of any size lawfully on agent credentials the morning the date opens, sends every PNR back on your list coach by coach, handles both legs together, watches every waiting list until the chart, refunds if a berth does not confirm, and issues a GST invoice. The fare is the same as on IRCTC; the service charge pays for the result.
Does an authorised agent charge more than IRCTC?+
The railway fare is identical. On top, IRCTC lets authorised agents charge a fixed booking fee per ticket, and a desk adds its own service charge, which we agree in writing before booking. For a group that is the price of someone answering for 200 berths on opening morning.
Can I use the railway's own group booking instead?+
Yes, if the institution applies in person at the reservation office with a letter, the passenger list and proof, within that railway zone's rules and berth cap. Zone rules say a travel agent cannot apply for you. Most groups find ordinary bookings made together on opening morning simpler, and that is what we do.
Send the group, get the plan in writing
Confirmed berth or 100% refund — RAC doesn't count