Indian Railways New Rule: In a bid to prevent ticketing misuse and give priority to genuine passengers, Indian Railways on Monday announced that Aadhaar authentication will be mandatory for booking general reserved tickets online during the first 15 minutes of reservation opening.
The new rule will be effective from October 1, the Ministry of Railways said. During this initial 15-minute window, only Aadhaar-verified users on the IRCTC website or app will be allowed to book tickets. Officials explained that the move is designed to stop touts and agents from grabbing tickets unfairly and to ensure regular passengers get a fair chance.
The ministry also clarified that there will be no change in booking timings at Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters. Likewise, the existing 10-minute restriction for authorised agents booking opening-day reserved tickets will remain unchanged.
Indian Railways Chart Preparation
This move comes as part of a series of reforms Indian Railways has been undertaking in its reservation system. Earlier, in June, the Railways had announced that reservation charts will now be prepared 8 hours before the train’s departure instead of 4 hours, to give passengers with waitlisted tickets more clarity and time to plan. The Railways is also in the process of upgrading its Passenger Reservation System (PRS), being developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). (Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S25 FE 5G Launched In India With Storage Upgrade And Cashback Offer; Check Camera, Battery, Display, Price)
Passenger Reservation System: Process Over 1.5 Lakh Tickets Per Minute
Once operational, the new PRS will be capable of handling ten times the current load, processing over 1.5 lakh tickets per minute and more than 40 lakh enquiries per minute. With Aadhaar-based authentication for online bookings and early chart preparation, the Railways aims to make the ticketing experience more transparent, passenger-friendly, and efficient. (With IANS Inputs)