Indian Railways Rule Changed: Rail travel begins with ticket booking, and the Indian Railways has taken several revolutionary steps to make this process even simpler and convenient. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav recently reviewed these changes and stressed that the ticketing system should be smart, transparent, accessible, and effective. Passenger convenience should be given top priority so that every passenger traveling by train can get a smooth and comfortable experience.
Now the reservation chart will be made 8 hours in advance
In the current system, the reservation chart is prepared four hours before the train leaves, which creates uncertainty among the passengers. Especially people coming to catch the train from far-flung areas face a lot of trouble. Now the Railway Board has taken this important decision that the chart will be prepared eight hours before the departure of the train.
Special rule for evening trains:- If a train is going to leave before 2 pm, then its chart will be ready by 9 pm a day before.
Phase-wise implementation:- The Railway Minister has also agreed to this proposal and has directed to implement it in a phased manner so that there is no interruption in the system.
The main objective of this step is that passengers on the waiting list will know about the status of their tickets quickly. If needed, they will get more time to make alternative arrangements for their journey. This will especially benefit those passengers who come from remote or urban suburbs.
New modern PRS is coming by December 2025 System
Railways is also preparing to change its Modern Passenger Reservation System (PRS) by December 2025. Railway Minister Vaishnaw has reviewed the progress of the new PRS system, on which CRIS has been working for the last few months. The new system will be able to handle ten times more than the existing load, and it will be much more flexible and efficient.
Know what will happen with the arrival of this new system
Huge increase in booking capacity:- There will be a tremendous increase in ticket booking capacity, which will increase from the current 32,000 tickets per minute to 1.5 lakh tickets per minute.
The boom in inquiry capacity:- Inquiry capacity will also increase from 4 lakh per minute to 40 lakh.
New Features:- New features like a multilingual and user-friendly interface, seat option selection facility, fare calendar, and special options for Divyangjan, students, patients, etc. will also be added to it.
All this is a big step towards making rail travel even more comfortable and convenient.
Tatkal Tickets and OTP Verification
Railways have also made important changes regarding Tatkal ticket booking so that rigging can be stopped and genuine passengers can get the benefit. From July 1, 2025, Tatkal ticket booking will be available only to authenticated users. Apart from this, by the end of July, OTP-based verification will be made mandatory on the IRCTC website/app.
The authentication system for Tatkal booking will be expanded and this verification will be done through the Aadhaar Card Number or any Government Identity Card available in DigiLocker. This step is to prevent fraud and ensure that Tatkal tickets reach only those who are genuinely in need.