Now Foreigners Can Book Train Tickets In All Classes As Indian Railways Introduces New Quota

Removing restrictions under the Foreign Tourist Quota (FTQ), the Indian Railways will now allow foreigners to purchase tickets in all classes of Indian trains, reports The New Indian Express. Previously, foreigners could only book seats or berths in the first AC, second AC and executive classes, upto 365 days in advance.

The move is aimed at boosting international tourism to India. Additionally, four berths per coach in sleeper and 3rd AC classes have been earmarked under the FTQ category. Five seats in each train will be allocated under the category in the second classes.

The number of berths earmarked in the two cabins of first AC is eight, while four berths are allocated in first class/2-tier AC sleeper composite coach. In second AC, eight berths come under FTQ while the number goes up to 10 in executive class.

Foreigners are able to make their ticket reservations through the IRCTC website, providing details such as their passport number, nationality and international mobile number. However, they are uniformly required to pay 1.5 times the base fare, and also have to shell out Rs 200 per ticket as an additional charge.