Good news for Railway passengers! Indian Railways rolls out new ticket booking rules for...

The Indian Railways has taken a big decision to prevent scams in online railway ticket booking system. The IDs of more than 2.5 crore users of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have been deactivated. The move has been taken after identifying suspicious railway ticket booking patterns and fake users. The government gave a detailed description of the latest initiative after MP AD Singh questioned the government over the topic in the ongoing parliament session.

Fake IRCTC account IDs removed

Before the government deactivated these account IDs, the Tatkal ticket booking option was facing immense problems. Also, it has been noticed that while genuine users used to book Tatkal, the booking window used to close in minutes of being opened. This issue arose due to automated bots that would rapidly book hundreds of tickets within minutes, leaving genuine users struggling to secure tickets. But after this initiative of the Railways, genuine users will get a big relief.

During the parliament session, the government also said that to promote confirmed ticket booking and digital booking, it has brought some major changes.

IRCTC new reformed rules

According to the new rules, reserved tickets can be booked online or at computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters on a “first-come, first-served” basis. However, these days around 89% of total tickets are booked through online platforms. Digital payment facilities are available at PRS counters.

The government has made it mandatory to book Tatkal tickets from July 1, 2025, after the Aadhaar cards of users are verified through the IRCTC website or app. The new rules also prohibit agents from booking Tatkal tickets in the first 30 minutes after the Tatkal reservation opens. The waiting list status of trains is regularly monitored, and Indian Railways operates special trains to meet excess demand.

The Railways also made many changes to the Emergency Quota. Until now, applications for Emergency Quota ticket bookings were sent on the same day as travelling, but from now on applicants need to submit the applications one day prior. This quota is only available for MPs, high-ranking officials, medical emergencies, and senior citizens.