Railway strengthens Tatkal booking with Aadhaar verification and OTP authentication
Indian Railways
Ferozepur: In order to ensure that the benefits of Tatkal train tickets are accessible to the common man,
Indian Railways
has introduced several new measures by modifying the Tatkal Scheme.
According to railway authorities, Aadhaar authentication has now been made mandatory for booking Tatkal e-tickets for individual users.
For Tatkal bookings at railway counters or windows, passengers or their representatives must provide a mobile number and an OTP.
Only after successful verification of the mobile number and OTP will the Tatkal ticket be generated.
In a significant step, the first 30 minutes of Tatkal ticket booking will be reserved exclusively for individual online users and passengers booking at the PRS counters at stations. Travel agents and authorized agencies will only be able to book tickets after this period—at 10:30 am for AC classes and 11:30 am for Non-AC classes.
For non-Aadhaar users, Tatkal ticket booking can still be done at PRS counters and through authorized travel agents. From July 1, 2025, Tatkal e-ticket bookings on the IRCTC app will be permitted only for Aadhaar-verified accounts. The provision of OTP for Aadhaar authentication will be implemented by July 15, 2025, ensuring that bots or other software tools cannot book tickets faster than genuine users.
Similarly, for window ticket bookings, passengers must provide a mobile number for OTP verification. This requirement will also take effect from July 15, further safeguarding the booking process for the general public.
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