TQWL meaning — Tatkal Quota Waiting List, and whether it clears

Why it moves, or does not

Clears only from cancellations of other Tatkal tickets, and Tatkal tickets are rarely cancelled because a confirmed one carries no refund. It also gets no priority at charting over general waiting lists.

What to do about it. The weakest of them all, and the one people most often misjudge because the ticket cost more. A confirmed Tatkal is excellent; a Tatkal waiting list is close to worthless.

Decode your own status

Paste the full string from IRCTC, including both numbers if it has them.

Paste your booking status

Exactly as IRCTC shows it, for example GNWL 45/WL 12.

Rarely clearsPosition 12

TQWL

Tatkal Quota Waiting List

Passengers who booked under Tatkal and did not get a confirmed berth.

Why it moves, or does not

Clears only from cancellations of other Tatkal tickets, and Tatkal tickets are rarely cancelled because a confirmed one carries no refund. It also gets no priority at charting over general waiting lists.

The weakest of them all, and the one people most often misjudge because the ticket cost more. A confirmed Tatkal is excellent; a Tatkal waiting list is close to worthless.

No honest tool can give you a confirmation percentage from this string alone. That depends on the specific train, date and quota, which needs live charting data. What the code does tell you reliably is the size of the pool feeding your position, and that is what the guidance above is based on.

Read the full page on TQWL

The other codes

GNWL

Usually clears

General Waiting List

Passengers boarding at the train's originating station, or at a major station close to it.

RLWL

Clears slowly

Remote Location Waiting List

Passengers travelling between two intermediate stations, where an en-route station holds its own small quota.

PQWL

Clears slowly

Pooled Quota Waiting List

Passengers on short intermediate stretches, sharing one pooled quota across several segments of the route.

RSWL

Rarely clears

Roadside Station Waiting List

Passengers boarding at a small roadside station along the route.

RLGN

Clears slowly

Remote Location General Waiting List

Passengers issued a remote-location ticket where that location's quota is administered as a general list.

RQWL

Clears slowly

Request Waiting List

Passengers whose origin-to-destination pair does not map onto any of the standard quotas, so the request is pooled separately.

RAC

You can board

Reservation Against Cancellation

Passengers just past the confirmed list when the quota ran out.

TQWL questions

What does TQWL mean in a train ticket?

TQWL stands for Tatkal Quota Waiting List. Passengers who booked under Tatkal and did not get a confirmed berth.

Does TQWL get confirmed?

Clears only from cancellations of other Tatkal tickets, and Tatkal tickets are rarely cancelled because a confirmed one carries no refund. It also gets no priority at charting over general waiting lists. The weakest of them all, and the one people most often misjudge because the ticket cost more. A confirmed Tatkal is excellent; a Tatkal waiting list is close to worthless.

What is the difference between TQWL and GNWL?

GNWL is fed by cancellations anywhere along the train's route, which makes it the largest pool and the most likely to clear. TQWL draws on a much narrower source, so the two numbers are not comparable — a low TQWL position can easily be worse than a much higher GNWL one.

Thinking about cancelling?

See what an RAC or waitlisted ticket actually refunds, and when it refunds itself.

Refund calculator