Indian Railways is going to make changes in the counter booking of Tatkal tickets. Now passengers will have to verify OTP on mobile to confirm the ticket. This system will be implemented on all trains across the country in the next few days.

Besides, the time for preparation of train chart will also be increased from 4 hours to 8 hours in advance. This will give waiting list passengers more time for planning. The pilot project was started on 17 November on 52 trains, which was successful.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav has approved the change in chart timing. These steps have been taken to prevent misuse of Tatkal quota and to provide convenience to honest passengers. Aadhaar verification in online Tatkal booking and OTP in general reservation have already been started.

Fake booking will stop and passengers will benefit

Tatkal tickets are in high demand, due to which there is a long queue at the counter. Now when a passenger books a ticket at the counter, OTP will be sent to his mobile number. The ticket will be confirmed only after entering the OTP. This will stop fake bookings and genuine passengers will benefit.

According to Railways, this system is already running successfully for general booking. This facility was started from October 2025, the response to which was good. Aadhaar based authentication was added for online Tatkal in July 2025, which proved helpful in reducing fraud. Now counter booking is also being made similarly safe.

The new system will be implemented on all trains in a few days

OTP system was tested on 52 trains in the pilot which started on 17 November 2025. After the results came positive, Railways decided that it would be implemented on all the remaining trains in the next few days. The rollout will happen in phases, so that there is no problem. Besides, it has also been announced to extend the time for preparing train charts.

Currently the chart is prepared 4 hours before departure, but now it will be ready 8 hours before. This change is being made with the approval of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. Passengers will know the wait-list status quickly, which will give them time to make alternative plans. For example, if your ticket is not confirmed, you will be able to arrange for another train or local transport first.

Changes due to problems with existing system

Complaints about misuse in Tatkal quota have been coming for a long time. Tickets are booked at the counter without verification, due to which agents and wrong people take advantage. Common passengers face difficulty. Railways has made many reforms in the last few months. In July, Aadhaar linking was made mandatory for online Tatkal, which stopped fake IDs.

OTP was added on the first day of general booking in October, which succeeded in increasing transparency. Now Counter Tatkal is also being added to this chain. A railway official said, ‘These changes are for the convenience of passengers. We want everyone to be able to get tickets easily. Increasing chart timing will also provide relief to lakhs of passengers.

Railways will make ticketing system digital

Railways is working rapidly towards making the ticketing system more digital. After the OTP system, the next focus will be on improvements to the IRCTC app. Options like face recognition or biometric verification will also come soon. There will be a phased rollout of chart preparation in all zones, so that the system runs smoothly.

These changes will be fully implemented by the end of 2025. The aim of Railways is to provide a more transparent and convenient experience to the passengers. If you make instant booking, keep your mobile number updated otherwise there may be problems.