Book an IRCTC Tour Package for a Customer

A family walks in and says, “We want to do a yatra. Can you book it?” It sounds simple. You’ve booked train tickets for years. But a tour package isn’t a train ticket. It has its own departure, its own terms, its own way of paying, and its own cancellation rules. If you get any of these wrong, the customer finds out at the worst possible time, which is usually just before they travel.

So slow down at the start. This post takes you through it in the order you’ll actually meet it: check you can sell it, understand what the customer wants, compare it against a real departure, work out the money, and keep good records. Everything below comes from IRCTC Tourism’s own pages, which we read on 18 October 2026.

Can you actually sell it? Confirm the channel first

IRCTC’s Tourism guidance says Internet Cafe Scheme agents book packages on the website using the same login ID and password issued for e-ticketing. It also describes a separate tourism rolling deposit arrangement for the PSP’s RSPs. (RSP is IRCTC’s word for the retail agent, and the PSP is the company that registered you.)

Here’s the catch. A working rail login doesn’t prove that Tourism is switched on for your agent ID. So ask your provider three things: is Tourism enabled for my particular ID, which route do I use, and how is the booking funded? Keep their answer in writing.

If access is unclear, don’t collect a booking payment. Keep the customer’s enquiry instead and come back to it once you know. The IRCTC Tourism for agents page gives the overview of the service.

What should you ask the customer first?

Before you open a single package page, have a proper chat. Ask:

• Where do they want to go, or which circuit?
• Which dates suit them, and how long can they be away?
• Where can they start from?
• Who is travelling?
• What can’t they do without? A named temple, a particular room arrangement, help for an elderly parent, a certain mode of transport?

Read it back to them so they can correct you. And don’t ask for identity copies yet. Wait until the package you’ve picked actually needs them.

How do you check the itinerary?

IRCTC Tourism’s FAQ says the Details area of each package has Overview, Itinerary, Inclusion, Terms and Conditions and Contact us, and that the Itinerary tab gives the day-wise programme. Always work from the actual departure, not from a search snippet or an old image on social media. Compare the package code, dates, category and occupancy before you quote anything.

Then go through the customer’s must-haves one by one. For each place they care about, find the day it falls on. If a place is only listed as a stop, don’t assume the customer gets to visit it. Ask whether the visit is included. And don’t promise an optional excursion, a ritual or a helicopter ride that the package doesn’t include.

Where will the customer board, and how do they get there?

IRCTC’s rail-tour FAQ says bookings use the boarding points available in the drop-down. For a change of boarding point, it points the traveller to the contact details in the product.

So ask the customer two things. Which permitted boarding point can you reach, and how will you get home from the deboarding point? Don’t promise a pickup from a city just because the train passes through it. If the customer needs an extra connection or a hotel night, that’s a separate purchase with its own quote and its own conditions. It isn’t protected by the package, and you should say so plainly.

What’s really in the category?

Compare the rail travel, accommodation, transport and meals of the category one by one. A higher rail class doesn’t prove a specific room, a lower berth or personal help. If a traveller has a practical need, get an answer from the operator and note whether it’s confirmed, conditional or unavailable. If it can’t be confirmed, look at another departure or leave the enquiry open. Never collect money on a promise that it’ll be sorted out later.

Medical questions are for a qualified clinician, not the counter. Don’t decide whether a yatra is suitable for someone’s health.

What does the customer pay, and what’s left out?

IRCTC’s package terms tell customers to read inclusions and exclusions carefully, and say the cancellation policy follows the individual product or package. When you quote, name the departure, category and occupancy. Show any connecting travel or extra nights as separate lines. Don’t fill gaps with guesses and call the total “the package fare”.

Then ask your provider what charges apply to an agent booking and what the customer’s receipt will show. Don’t assume the public card-payment gateway schedule applies to a booking funded through your PSP.

Can the customer pay in instalments?

Not through an agent’s online booking. IRCTC’s part-payment note, checked on 18 October 2026, describes a facility for registered or guest users booking packages above ₹50,000 per transaction, and for IRCTC counters serving walk-in customers. The same note excludes agents from online part-payment bookings.

That has a few practical effects:

• Don’t describe your shop as an “IRCTC counter” for this purpose unless you have a confirmed arrangement that says so.
• Ask your provider how an agent sale must be funded before you take any deposit.
• Keep the customer’s package payment separate from your own registration or wallet funding.
• Never use a guest account to get around the rule.

If the customer wants instalments, tell them about the restriction honestly and ask your provider about any official alternative.

IRCTC’s Tourism RDS procedure adds one more point. Bookings are debited from the relevant RDS account, and refunds are credited to that account. That describes the institutional deposit. It doesn’t tell you what amount each retail counter must hold. So ask how your own transaction is funded and who reconciles a cancellation or a failed booking. And don’t tell a customer their money has come back when all that has happened is a credit to an institutional account.

What if the payment went through but you don’t see a booking?

IRCTC’s package terms say a successfully completed transaction produces a unique transaction ID. Its part-payment note says the tour confirmation number is generated after IRCTC receives the total package cost. Keep both references.

If your account shows a debit but the result is unclear, look at the original history and ask support about that exact reference. Don’t pay again just because the final screen didn’t load. And until you have a real booking, say “your payment is being checked”, not “your booking is done”.

Vouchers, changes and cancellation

IRCTC’s package terms describe a voucher as a receipt for the booking. It isn’t an authority to travel on the Indian Railway network. Ask the operator when the travel documents and reporting instructions are issued. Don’t borrow the timeline from a different package. When the documents arrive, have the traveller check names, dates, category and boarding information, and report any mistake through the package contact.

Cancellation differs from one package to another. IRCTC’s FAQ says cancellation charges vary by package and are in the product terms, and that online cancellation is different from cancellation at a PRS counter. So read out the terms of the departure you’ve actually booked. Don’t quote a standard slab, and don’t deduct an amount you’ve guessed from some other tour.

If the customer wants a change instead, write down their request in their own words. Which booking is it about? Are they asking a question, asking for a chargeable change, or cancelling? Keep the original booking visible until the change is accepted, and keep every acknowledgement you get. If the request is urgent, use the route you’ve verified and keep a note of the time.

What does a good handover look like?

Say a fictional family is booking a pilgrimage circuit and could join at a couple of stations. A careful order goes like this. Write down what they can’t do without. Pick a candidate only after checking its real departure, permitted boarding point and category terms. Get the operator’s answer on any must-have that’s still open, before any money changes hands. Confirm how the sale is funded, then explain the amount payable and the cancellation terms.

Once the booking is confirmed, check the documents issued against what the family agreed. Explain the reporting information. And make clear which parts, such as a connecting train or an extra night, are separate purchases. This example isn’t a prediction about any real customer. It just shows how to keep the enquiry, the payment, the booking and the travel documents apart in your head.

Keep a folder for each booking with the agreed itinerary, the terms, the payment and booking references and any answer about a special request. Hand over only what the customer needs. Don’t give out your wallet details or login. If a colleague follows up, give them the same folder and ask them to check for an existing payment or cancellation case before they start another.

What should you ask your provider before the first booking?

It’s worth sending one message to your provider, in writing, before you take your first package enquiry seriously. Ask:

1. Is Tourism enabled for my agent ID, and which route should I use?
2. How is a package booking funded for my ID, and who reconciles a cancellation or a failed booking?
3. What charges apply to an agent booking, and what will the customer’s receipt show?
4. If a customer asks to pay in instalments, what is the official answer for an agent?
5. Who submits a cancellation or change request for a booking made through my ID, and what acknowledgement do I get?

Save the reply with the date. If the answer to any of these is “we’ll let you know”, wait for it before you take the customer’s money.

Questions agents ask

Is a package payment the same as a completed booking?

No. Check the transaction result and the booking reference. If a debit exists but confirmation is unclear, investigate the original reference before you try again.

Can a customer cancel an online package at a railway counter?

Check the product’s cancellation instructions and the agent arrangement it was booked under. Ask who submits the request and keep the acknowledgement. Don’t send the customer to a counter without verifying the route first.

Can I take a small advance from the customer to hold a seat?

Ask your provider how an agent sale must be funded before you take any deposit. IRCTC’s part-payment note excludes agents from online part-payment bookings, so don’t invent your own arrangement.

For a SiOnline account question, use customer care with your agent ID and the reference. The help centre can point you to the right guide.

Sources and checks

• IRCTC Tourism, Travel Agents and PSP tourism registration guidance, retrieved 18 October 2026.
• IRCTC Tourism, Tourism portal and rail-tour FAQ, retrieved 18 October 2026.
• IRCTC Tourism, Package terms and conditions, retrieved 18 October 2026.

Check the applicable account or package terms again before paying.