Indian Railways’ Circular Journey Ticket Can Save Travellers Thousands of Rupees on Multi-City Trips
Indian Railways offers a little-known but highly useful facility called the Circular Journey Ticket, which allows passengers to visit multiple cities on a single ticket—provided the journey starts and ends at the same station.
The key condition is that the origin and destination stations must be identical. The facility was introduced to make multi-city travel simpler for pilgrims, tourists, families, and long-distance travellers who previously had to purchase separate tickets for each leg.
A recent explainer video by the channel Kadak highlights how this option can eliminate the repeated hassle of booking separate tickets and potentially save thousands of rupees, especially on long multi-city tours, pilgrimages, or family holidays.
What Is a Circular Journey Ticket?
It is a special ticket designed for journeys that begin and end at the same railway station while allowing stops at several intermediate cities. For example, a traveller can start from Delhi, visit Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai, and return to Delhi—all covered under one ticket.The key condition is that the origin and destination stations must be identical. The facility was introduced to make multi-city travel simpler for pilgrims, tourists, families, and long-distance travellers who previously had to purchase separate tickets for each leg.
Why It Can Be Cheaper
Railway fares decrease on a per-kilometre basis as the total distance increases. Combining several shorter trips into one long circular journey often results in a lower overall fare compared to buying individual tickets. Additional charges such as superfast fees or reservation charges are also applied only once in many cases, further reducing costs on longer itineraries.Key Rules and Benefits
- Validity: Up to 56 days (approximately two months). The exact validity depends on the total distance and planned stopovers (travel days calculated roughly every 400 km, stopovers every 200 km).
- Stopovers: Passengers can break their journey at a maximum of eight stations to explore cities, meet relatives, or visit religious sites.
- Classes available: Sleeper, 3AC, 2AC, 1AC, and First Class.
- Senior citizen concession: Available on journeys of 1,000 km or more, subject to existing railway rules.
- Two types of routes:
- Standard: Pre-defined popular tourist or pilgrimage circuits set by the Railways (easier process).
- Non-standard: Custom routes planned by the passenger according to their needs.
How to Book Circular Journey Ticket
Unlike regular tickets, Circular Journey Tickets cannot be booked directly on the IRCTC app or website.- Plan the complete route in advance (starting station, intermediate stops, and return to the same station).
- Visit the nearest major railway station and approach the Divisional Commercial Manager or Station Manager with the proposed itinerary.
- Officials calculate the total distance, fix the fare, and approve the route.
- Take the approved form to the passenger reservation counter, pay the fare, and obtain the Circular Journey Ticket.
Important: The ticket only authorises travel. Seat reservations must still be made separately for each train segment (only the reservation fee is paid; the full journey fare is not charged again).
Who Should Consider It?
The facility is particularly useful for:- Religious tours (e.g., Char Dham, Jyotirlinga circuits)
- Multi-city holidays (Rajasthan, South India, etc.)
- Family or group travel covering several destinations
- Anyone planning an extended rail itinerary that loops back to the starting point
Ashwani Singh
Ashwani Singh is the Chief Editorial Officer of Talk News. A specialist in digital journalism and trending news cycles, Ashwani leads a mission to provide the world’s most viral stories with integrity and speed. When not overseeing content strategy, he focuses on data-driven reporting to keep readers informed on the latest tech and global shifts.