New Delhi: The Ministry of Railways announced on Wednesday that with effect from July 1, Tatkal tickets booked through IRCTC’s official website and mobile app will be available only to users authenticated with Aadhaar.
Further, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication will become mandatory for Tatkal bookings made online starting July 15.
Tatkal tickets booked at computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and through authorised agents will require OTP authentication sent to the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking. This provision will also come into effect from July 15.
To prevent bulk bookings during the critical opening period, authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways will not be permitted to book opening-day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window.
For AC classes, this restriction applies from 10 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., and for non-AC classes, from 11 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.
These changes are being implemented to improve transparency in Tatkal bookings and to ensure that the benefits of the scheme reach genuine end users, according to the official statement.
The CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Services) and IRCTC have been instructed to make necessary system modifications and inform all Zonal Railways and departments concerned accordingly.
The Ministry of Railways has urged all passengers to take note of these changes and asked everyone to ensure Aadhaar linkage with their IRCTC user profiles to avoid inconvenience.
The steps are being implemented with an aim to ensure fair and transparent access to Tatkal tickets and to safeguard the interests of genuine passengers. The changes will enhance user authentication and reduce misuse of the scheme, the statement added.
Indian Railways had cracked down on misuse of Tatkal bookings and identified and deactivated 2.5 crore fake IDs and flagged another 20 lakh for revalidation. Some of these accounts were found to be using disposable email addresses, which were being used to hoard tickets and sell them at inflated prices. IRCTC is utilising AI-driven tools to monitor and detect bot activity, which was being used by touts to book tickets in bulk and then make genuine travellers pay huge amounts for the tickets.
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