How to buy IRCTC tickets outside of India if "International Cards" does not appear in the list?
I'm trying to book a ticket a month in advance with a foreign credit/debit card. All the existing options do not work. The system says:
All international Debit/Credit cards can also be used for ticket booking through 'International Cards (Powered by ATOM)'.
but ATOM is not even in the list:
What do I do? Is it a typical/temporary issue?
Best Answer
This must be a glitch. Wait for sometime and try again. The ATOM option is available to me.
If this option is not available to you for a long time. Try the following workaround.
- Transfer the cash required from your credit card to a wallet service like Paytm, Mobikwik, etc...
- While paying in IRCTC select the option Cash card/Wallets.
- Choose the Paytm/Mobikwik/any other wallet.
Note: All the Cash cards/wallet except Mobikwik requires a phone number starting with +91 i.e) in India. So Mobikwik is the best and only option at the time of writing.
Pictures about "How to buy IRCTC tickets outside of India if "International Cards" does not appear in the list?"
How can I book IRCTC ticket from outside India?
Foreign Tourists (including NRIs) holding valid passport can now avail Foreign Tourist Quota facility to book railway tickets online using IRCTC eTicketing website www.irctc.co.in. International Users can book tickets under Foreign Tourist Quota upto 365 days in advance.Does IRCTC accept international cards?
IRCTC will now permit other international credit and debit cards issued outside the country for booking of e-tickets through its ticketing site as it has made necessary changes in the system to enable global transactions.Can we access IRCTC from outside India?
While the website does work from multiple locations outside India, with the exception of Phoenix, Arizona in the United States, the site was not accessible from all other major cities in US or Canada. Summary of website availability from across the world.Why booking is not allowed in IRCTC?
The most likely in this case is the IRCTC try not to fill relatively long-distance trains with short-distance passengers and thus will not allow you to book. There are many alternative trains available for that journey, especially if you depart from DDU.How to Book Indian Railway Tickets as a Foreigner or NRI
More answers regarding how to buy IRCTC tickets outside of India if "International Cards" does not appear in the list?
Answer 2
For future people. I struggled with IRCTC for hours trying to pay with a foreign card and failed. I tried 12go and it worked but they charged a R800 fee for a R500 ticket :P Cleartrip has worked in the past but they billed me and no ticket (I am confident of a refund).
But then I found the trick with paying in IRCTC via Atom. It is so damned counter-intuitive...but once cracked, it is easy.
Step through the booking process until you come to the review booking page that looks like this
Click on Multiple Payment Service and you get this
And you are away. It took me 8 hours of frustration to get my first booking because the obvious place to click was debit card with PIN. Once I worked this out it took about 30 minutes to do 4 more bookings.
The next challenge is the Indian railway system itself :P
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Anete Lusina, Anete Lusina, Anete Lusina, Anete Lusina