How To Register On IRCTC Indian Railway Site As A Foreigner in 2024

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The IRCTC is the official website for the Indian Railway system, it’s the official and direct way to book trains in India and it’s what locals use. However, it is a bit hard to work out how to use AND you need to register to the IRCTC first which can also seem tricky to start with.

So in this India travel blog, I’m going to give you a step by step guide on how to register on the IRCTC website as a foreigner to India so that you can book trains in India using IRCTC ticket booking system.

If you have already registered, head straight over to my How to book a train in India guide with step by step details on how to use IRCTC.

VISA FOR INDIA!

Remember you need a visa to enter India. Luckily, these day’s the visa for India can be applied for online and they give you a 1-year visa straight away! Here’s my step by step easy guide on how to apply for an e-visa for India.

IRCTC Registration

Step One – Complete Registration on IRCTC

Visit the IRCTC website and click ‘Register’ at the top. Complete the details in the first section which are standard questions and easy to answer.

When you get to ‘Country’ at the bottom of the form and you complete anything that isn’t ‘India’ it will bring up a blue info box basically saying that unless you have an Indian Mobile Number (with dialing code 91) you will have to pay a registration fee after successful registration of just over 100 Indian Rupee’s, which is an extremely little amount.

Note – I assume this is because you need to be sent a registration code to verify your account, they can send it to an Indian number for free but if you are completing this and not yet in India and therefore do not have an Indian Sim Card.

Complete the remaining details. Although it asks for your address in a weird way including Post Office Address, complete with your own home address making sure all mandatory boxes are completed. Complete the Captcha, tick ‘agree’ to the T’s & C’s and click ‘Register’.

You’ll get a pop up confirming your mobile number and email address so make sure this is correct.

You’ll then get a list of green boxes confirming everything plus an email sent to your address.

Note – This email may take some time to send, especially if you are somewhere on a different timezone as India but you do not need this email to continue the registration process so it’s ok.

Step Two – Log on for the First Time

You can now click to log into your account. Enter your username and password, complete the Captcha and hit login.

You’ll see a big blue sign again telling you that you need to pay a registration fee. (If you happened to use an Indian Number in the setup process because you are in India already, you will not see this and instead be sent a verification code and can skip this step.)

Step Three – Pay the Registration Fee on IRCTC

Click on the second option in Payment Options on the left – Multiple Payment Service and International Cards.

Click Make Payment which will take you through to a section to complete with your bank details and billing address, complete these details and click ‘Pay Now’. This is the same way you will pay for your trains when you are booking them.

Note – If you are using a bank card like Monzo it will alert you in the app and ask you to confirm the payment. This may happen with other prepaid travel cards too. If you’re using a bank debit or credit card you may be asked for authorisation from them too depending on how this is set up. If you have any issues paying take a look into this.

Step Four – Verify OTP

Now you’ll see ‘Mobile and Email Verification Process’. You need to verify both by IRCTC sending a code – OTP as they call it, to your email and mobile number entered.

Click ‘Verify Mobile with OTP’ and ‘Verify Email with OTP’ to ensure that the OTP does get sent.

This is when it can get a bit annoying as by now you probably won’t have had your registration email through, and there will be a delay on the email and probably text message with both OTP codes on, especially if you are not in the same timezone as India. To save getting lots of codes do not keep clicking to re-send the code, give it some time first.

You’ll more than likely need to put the registration aside for a few hours, maybe even until tomorrow until both the email code and mobile code comes through, so have a look at some of my other India travel blogs posts, bookmark this page and come back to it when it does as the below tells you exactly how to book a train in India as a foreigner!

When your email OTP and Mobile OTP come through, log back onto the IRCTC website and enter them in.  After you log in the first page you’ll see is the verification page.

It will tell you your account is verified and you need to log back in via the homepage again via the ‘login’ button at the top.

And now you’re ready to book a train in India!

For more of my India blog posts to help you plan your trip see:

• How to get a Sim Card in India!
• Where to Stay in Delhi – Accommodation Guide!
• 10 Delhi Travel Tips to See & Enjoy Delhi as a Tourist!
• Packing List For India & What To Wear in India as a Female!
• A 2 Week India Itinerary For Your First Trip To India!
• ALL MY INDIA BLOG POSTS.