How to Book a Vande Bharat Ticket on IRCTC

Every Vande Bharat Express is fully reserved, so you cannot board with an unreserved ticket. This guide walks through the whole Vande Bharat train booking process, from finding your train to checking your PNR, with the rules that are different on Vande Bharat trains.

Before you book

• An IRCTC account. You need one to book online. Registration is free on the IRCTC website or app.
• Your train number. Find it in the Vande Bharat route list or with trains between stations. Searching by station pair on IRCTC also works.
• Station codes. Use the actual station, for example Howrah Jn (HWH) and not “Kolkata”, Madgaon (MAO) for Goa, or Varanasi Jn (BSB) and not Banaras (BSBS).
• The class you want:
  • Chair Car trains: CC (AC Chair Car) or EC (Executive Chair Car).
  • Sleeper trains: 1A, 2A or 3A.
  • See CC vs EC.
• The running day. Most Vande Bharat trains run six days a week with one day off. Check your date with the running days checker.

When does Vande Bharat booking open?

Vande Bharat booking opens 60 days before the journey, at 08:00 IST, not counting the journey day. The 60 days are counted from the date the train leaves its first station. On a daytime Vande Bharat Express this is almost always the day you travel. On an overnight Vande Bharat Sleeper, if you board after midnight, the train left its first station the day before, so booking opened a day earlier too.

Example: for a journey on 10 January 2027, booking opens on 11 November 2026 at 08:00 IST. Get the exact date for your trip with the Vande Bharat booking date calculator.

Step-by-step: book Vande Bharat on IRCTC

1. Log in to IRCTC. Open the IRCTC website or app and sign in.

2. Enter your journey. Type the From and To stations and pick your travel date. In the class filter, choose AC Chair Car (CC) or Exec. Chair Car (EC) to narrow the list.

3. Find the Vande Bharat train. Look for “Vande Bharat” in the train name, or match the train number from our route pages. IRCTC names them in short forms such as “VANDE BHARAT EXP” or “MAO VANDE BHARAT”.

4. Check availability and fare. Click the class to see seats available (AVL), the waiting list (WL) and the fare for the next few dates. You can see the fare and availability on IRCTC without logging in.

5. Add passengers. Enter each passenger’s name, age and gender exactly as on their ID. Saving regular travellers in your IRCTC master list makes this faster.

6. Choose your meal. Pick a meal option or No Food. The fare changes with this choice: on Howrah–Puri, CC costs ₹1,485 with a meal and ₹1,122 with No Food. See Vande Bharat food.

7. Review and pay. Check the train, date, stations, class and passengers, then pay. Your e-ticket and PNR are sent by SMS and email.

Booking Vande Bharat Tatkal

If the general quota on your Vande Bharat Express is full, Tatkal on Vande Bharat Chair Car trains opens at 10:00 IST one day before the train leaves its first station, for CC and EC. Agents are blocked until 10:30. Tatkal adds about ₹225 in CC and ₹500 in EC to a full-length fare, plus GST, and one Tatkal ticket can carry at most four passengers.

When we checked IRCTC on 11 November 2026 it showed the message “Only Aadhaar-verified users can book tatkal tickets”, so verify your IRCTC account with Aadhaar well before you need Tatkal. A confirmed Tatkal ticket gets no refund if you cancel. Read the Vande Bharat Tatkal guide and use the Tatkal booking time tool for a countdown.

Booking the Vande Bharat Sleeper

The Vande Bharat Sleeper is booked on IRCTC the same way, but its rules are different. Under Railway Board Commercial Circular 03/2026:

• Confirmed tickets under the rules. Railway Board rules allow no RAC and no partly confirmed tickets on the Sleeper. On 11 November 2026, though, IRCTC showed waiting-list numbers on the New Delhi–Varanasi Sleeper 27422, so check the status IRCTC shows before you pay. If a class is full, try another class or date.
• No Tatkal. The Sleeper has only Ladies, Divyangjan, Senior Citizen and Duty Pass quotas.
• Minimum 400 km. Every ticket is charged for at least 400 km, plus GST.
• Digital payment only.
• Lower berths are given automatically, where available, to men aged 60 and above and women aged 45 and above.
• Food is included in the fare.

See the Vande Bharat Sleeper guide and the Sleeper fare calculator.

Vande Bharat ticket price

The fare depends on the train, the station pair, the class and the meal you choose. Vande Bharat trains have no dynamic fare, so the price does not change as seats fill up. On full-length trips of about 490 to 770 km, CC costs ₹1,385 to ₹1,835 and EC ₹2,505 to ₹3,385 with a meal (IRCTC, 11 November 2026). Read how Vande Bharat ticket prices work or use the Vande Bharat fare calculator.

There is no fare concession on Vande Bharat trains, including for senior citizens. Four seats in the chair cars of each train service are reserved as a quota for passengers with disabilities. See concessions and quotas.

How quickly do Vande Bharat trains fill up?

Popular Vande Bharat Express trains run full days ahead. On 11 November 2026, IRCTC showed these waiting lists for trains two to four days away:

The pattern is clear: CC waiting lists are long, and EC waiting lists are much shorter. Book on the day booking opens if you can. A waitlisted Chair Car ticket that is still on the waiting list when the chart is made is cancelled and refunded automatically, less ₹60 clerkage. Read the waiting list guide.

Seat availability tips

• Search the whole week. Many Vande Bharat trains run six days a week, and availability can differ a lot from one day to the next.
• Try the other class. If CC is full, EC may have seats.
• Check the second train. Some routes have two Vande Bharat trains, for example New Delhi–Varanasi (22435/22436 and 22415/22416) and Mumbai Central–Ahmedabad (22961/22962 and 20901/20902). See the route list.
• Book from your real station. If you board at an intermediate stop, such as Bhubaneswar (BBS) on the Howrah–Puri train or Thane (TNA) on the Mumbai–Goa train, search from that station.
• Try Tatkal at 10:00 the day before, for Chair Car trains only.

Booking at a station counter

You can also book a Vande Bharat ticket at a passenger reservation (PRS) counter at the station. Counter tickets follow the same booking window and fares. They have a few extra options, such as moving the journey date once at least 48 hours before departure (72 hours on the Vande Bharat Sleeper), which e-tickets do not have. See changing a Vande Bharat ticket.

After booking

• Your PNR: check booking status anytime on IRCTC or the Indian Railways PNR enquiry. See the PNR and running status guide.
• Chart time: morning Vande Bharat trains get their chart by 20:00 the night before; later trains about 10 hours before departure. Check with the chart time tool.
• Change of plan: the boarding station can be changed once, online, up to about 30 minutes before departure. An e-ticket’s date cannot be changed.
• Cancelling: cancel on IRCTC from Booked Ticket History. On a Chair Car ticket, cancelling more than 72 hours ahead costs ₹180 in CC or ₹240 in EC. See Vande Bharat refund rules.
• Running status on travel day: use NTES.
• Your seat and coach: see the Vande Bharat seat map.

Vande Bharat booking FAQs

Can I book a Vande Bharat Express ticket on IRCTC? Yes. Vande Bharat trains are booked on IRCTC like other reserved trains, on the website or the app.

When does Vande Bharat ticket booking open? 60 days before the journey at 08:00 IST, counted from the day the train leaves its first station.

Can I book Vande Bharat at the railway station? Yes, at a passenger reservation (PRS) counter. Online booking on IRCTC is usually quicker.

Is food included in a Vande Bharat ticket? On Chair Car trains, only if you choose a meal while booking. On the Vande Bharat Sleeper, food is included in the fare.

Which class should I book on Vande Bharat, CC or EC? CC is the cheaper class with 3+2 seating. EC has wider 2+2 seats and costs about 1.8 to 1.9 times as much. Compare them in CC vs EC.

Is there Tatkal on Vande Bharat? Yes, in CC and EC on Vande Bharat Chair Car trains, at 10:00 IST the day before. There is no Tatkal on the Vande Bharat Sleeper.

Can I get a waiting list ticket on Vande Bharat? On Chair Car trains, yes. On the Vande Bharat Sleeper, the Railway Board rules say confirmed tickets only, but IRCTC showed waiting-list numbers on 27422 in November 2026, so check what IRCTC offers for your date.

Sources

IRCTC e-ticket booking instructions · IRCTC: Opt Meal after booking · Fares and waiting lists: IRCTC, 11 November 2026 · Sleeper rules: Railway Board Commercial Circular 03/2026 (copy) · No concession and disabled quota: PIB, February 2026 · Booking window and Tatkal timing as summarised by RailwayHelper, checked October 2026. This is an independent passenger guide. Book only on official IRCTC channels. Report a correction.