New Delhi: Indian Railways is about to make a major change that will directly impact passengers. Western Railways announced a major overhaul of the Tatkal ticket booking process on Friday. In accordance with Railway Board guidelines, this new system is being implemented to make ticket booking more transparent and secure.
According to railway officials, Tatkal tickets will only be issued after the system-generated one-time password sent to the passenger’s mobile number is successfully verified. OTP confirmation will now be required during the ticket booking process. The new rules are expected to be helpful for passengers. They will be implemented on December 1, 2025.
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Tickets will not be issued if an invalid OTP is used.
According to the new Indian Railways rules, passengers must provide their mobile number at the time of booking a ticket. The system will then generate an OTP and share it with that mobile number. Tickets will only be confirmed after the OTP is successfully verified.
If the OTP is found to be incorrect or invalid, the ticket will not be issued. With this, the system will apply to all types of Tatkal bookings. This includes bookings made through computerised PRS counters, authorised agents, the IRCTC website, and mobile apps.
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Learn why the rules changed.
According to Indian Railways, Tatkal ticket bookings were previously plagued by discrepancies and fraudulent practices. Tickets were often booked quickly using bots and other technical methods, causing inconvenience to genuine passengers.
The OTP-based verification system will help mitigate these problems. Officials also state that this new system will make the ticket booking process more transparent and secure. The advantage is that only passengers who have provided correct and valid information will receive tickets.