The National Train Enquiry System or NTES was launched by CRIS, the IT wing of Indian Railways, in 2014. The system was designed to provide passengers with live status updates on train timings and other schedules. NTES mobile app offers detailed information about the current position of the train, expected time of arrival, and departure at a particular station.
Key Features of NTES Railway Inquiry App:-

The railway inquiry app is a back-end system of Indian Railways that provides accurate information to passengers through unique rail inquiry number 139, website, mobile interfaces, touch screens, inquiry counters, and display boards at railway stations. Following are some key features of the NTES train ticket booking app:
- Spot Your Train
- Train time updates
- Live Station updates
- Train Schedules
- Trains between Stations
- Canceled Trains
- Rescheduled Trains
- Diverted Trains
1. Spot Your Train
The ‘Spot your train’ feature on the national train inquiry system is used to track a train’s online LIVE status. It tells the current status of a train and the name of the station it’s about to pass or just has passed.
2. Live Train Running Status
The live train running status feature helps travelers track the exact location of trains in real-time. It also estimates the timing of train arrival at any particular station en route. The feature also reports about the Last Reported Location” and “Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) at upcoming stoppages.
The current train running status is much more accurate than any other metric. That’s because running trains change their status very often. Hence, a user needs to check the updates more frequently to get better and more accurate results.
3. Trains Between Stations
The ‘trains between stations’ feature on NTES App informs travelers about trains that are running between two specific stations and the trains that are canceled on that route. It also provides information about the list of trains available between the two railway stations.
4. Canceled Trains
Cancellations can occur due to bad weather, declared emergencies, catastrophes, etc. With the ‘canceled train’ feature on the train inquiry app, travelers can get the details of the trains canceled.
5. Last Reported Station info
The last reported station shows a stoppage or an intermediate station that’s not actually a regular stoppage but the train is supposed to cross that stoppage/station.
6. Last crossed station info
Last crossed station info on the NTES app informs about the stations that the train just has passed. The feature helps to find the exact location of the train and the current status if the train is running late.
7. Last Reported Station ->
The last Reported Station of the NTES rail inquiry app indicates if the train has either arrived or departed or crossed a particular station.
8. Estimated Time of Arrival
The Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) provides information about the expected time when the train might arrive at any of its upcoming stations/junctions. This is the time that a train takes to arrive at a particular station. A traveler should reach the boarding point by that time.
9. Train Schedule
The train Schedule feature provides a complete schedule of a particular train and its all stoppages along with the train’s scheduled arrival/departure at the station.
10. Rescheduled Trains
The ‘Rescheduled train’ feature on the national train inquiry website tells users if a particular train has been rescheduled for any reason. It will update if the train is running on time or has been preponed or postponed.
11. Diverted Trains
The feature tells about the train(s) that have been diverted from their existing routes. The information is validated by Indian railway authorities before making it public. Before starting your journey, check the train’s diversion status.
12. Special Train Enquiry
Indian Railways introduces special trains or temporary trains to handle the peak hour rush during festivals. The National Train Enquiry app (NTES) has a special tab for providing information on special trains.
13. Heritage train Info
If you love Indian Diaspora and are eager to experience its legacy, you can choose heritage trains run by Indian railways. The heritage train info tab on the app provides you with complete information on India’s luxurious heritage trains.
14. PNR Enquiry
With PNR inquiry, you can track the reservation status of a passenger on the train. Just enter the PNR number in the PNR input box and hit enter. You can now see the details of the ticket bought.
Useful Indian Railway Enquiry Abbreviations:
The national train inquiry app uses certain abbreviations alongside the train name and number to quickly book tickets. Travelers must know those abbreviations and their meanings.
ETA and ETD:
ETA stands for an expected time of arrival, while ETD stands for an estimated time of departure. Both the terms are tentative and inform about the expected time when a train is expected to arrive at or depart from an upcoming station.
To note, the ETAS and ETD may change during the journey as trains recover time during the course of their run.
ATA and ATD:
Here ATA stands for Actual Time of Arrival and ATD is the short form of Actual Time of Departure, respectively. ATA refers to the time your train actually arrived at a station or departed from a station en route.
It simply means once a train arrives or departs from a particulate station, ETA and ETD become ATA and ATD.
139: The Indian Railway Enquiry Number
In case you want to have answers to real-time status queries about the Indian railway trains, you can call 139. This is a 24×7 helpline by Indin Railways that provides accurate and real-time information on PNR status, arrival and departure times of trains, availability of seats in trains, and train fares of different classes.
You can also use SMS to get this info on your mobile phone in form of text. To get the info via SMS, type your PNR, and then input the PNR number of 10-digits after giving a space before sending out the SMS.
How to Download NTES Train Enquiry App?
Here are the steps you should follow to download the National Train Enquiry system app on your mobile phone:
- Open the android play store on your phone
- Search for the NTES app
- Click on the install button and wait for the application to download and install
- Once the app has been successfully installed, open the app.
- Give necessary permissions to use the app and start using
How to Check Train Running Status on IRCTC Train Enquiry App?
Below is the step-by-step guide on how to check the train running status through the app:
- Open the IRCTC official website
- Click on ‘Trains’ on the menu bar. Now choose ‘Track Your Train’ from the dropdown list. It will navigate you to the train tracking page
- Enter the number of the train in the box shown
- Here you can see the journey details of the train on the screen as a list.
- You can now select the journey/boarding/arrival station and the journey/boarding/arrival date from the given list.
- Now the app will show you the live running status of the train that includes information such as the name of the last updated/reported station, the distance between the current location and the station requested, the status of the train at the requested station, expected arrival, and real-time delay.
How to Check Fare on IRCTC Train Enquiry App?
In case you’re searching for a way to find train fares for the trains, you can check it out right from the fare inquiry tab by following the below steps:
- Go on the fare inquiry portal by clicking this Link
- Enter Train number
- Enter Journey Date
- Enter Source Station
- Enter Destination Station
- Enter Class
- Enter Quota
- Click Get Fare Button
Indian Railway Enquiry System: Tatkal Ticket Reservation Rules
Here are the latest amendments made to Tatkal ticket bookings by Indian Railways. With every revision in fare, the amount is automatically updated in the National Train Inquiry system.
- Tatkal tickets are issued for the actual distance of travel.
- A Tatkal berth/seat is booked in multiple legs until the chart is prepared. While
- the chart is being prepared, unutilized portions are made available to the General RAC/Waiting list passengers.
- You may also book Tatkal tickets in Executive Class of premium trains like Shatabadi and Express trains as well.
- Tatkal booking window opens at 10 AM for AC Classes and 11 AM for NON-AC Classes One day in advance from the actual date of the journey excluding the date of the journey.
- Indian Railway doesn’t issue duplicate Tatkal tickets.
- In exceptional cases, a duplicate Tatkal ticket can be issued with payment of the full fare including Tatkal charges.
- While booking multiple Tatkal tickets, all the passengers are not required to furnish their identity in the form. Only one passenger needs to produce a valid document to authenticate the identity.
Tatkal Ticket Refund Policy
Indian Railway doesn’t issue a refund on the cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets/duplicate Tatkal tickets. Refund is only entertained as per the rules mentioned in Para 2 of instructions contained in Commercial Circular no. 53 of 2006 issued vide letter no. 2006/TGII/ 20/P/Tatkal, dated 30.06.2006.
You can get a full refund of the fare and Tatkal charges for the tickets booked in the following conditions:
- A refund is initiated if the train is delayed by more than 3 hours at the journey originating point of the passenger.
- Refunds will also be granted if the train route has been diverted and the traveler is not willing to travel on this new route.
- You will also be entitled to a refund if the train is to run on a diverted route and your boarding, as well as destination station, are not on the diverted route.
- A refund will be issued if the Indian railway fails to attach the coach in which Tatkal accommodation has been earmarked.
- If the traveler has been offered lower class and he is not intended to travel, he will be given a refund of the difference in fare.
National Train Enquiry System [NTES]: FAQs
If you still have questions related to the rail inquiry app, we have compiled here a few.
What does it mean by train coach position?
Coach position helps to locate your coach on the railway platform. The position of the coach starts from the engine. If you have got a seat in coach 11, it indicates the 11th coach starting from the engine.
What is the purpose of the Indian Railways train inquiry number?
You can dial 139 from your phone number to find information about the trains from any part of the country.
How to check the train ticket status?
It’s easy. Just input your PNR number in the given field of the railway inquiry app. It will show the current status of your booked ticket.
What are the main features of the NTES [National Train Enquiry System] App?
The train inquiry app can provide you with real-time updates on train schedules, rescheduled trains, Cancelled trains, diverted trains, and special trains. You can also check the app for train running status and PNR status.
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