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The move is expected to benefit waitlisted passengers by giving them additional time to make alternate plans in case their tickets remain unconfirmed
Indian Railways | Representative Image
Indian Railways will now prepare the final reservation chart eight hours prior to a train’s departure, replacing the earlier norm of four hours, in a significant shift aimed at enhancing transparency and passenger convenience.
The move, currently under pilot testing, is expected to benefit waitlisted passengers by giving them additional time to make alternate plans in case their tickets remain unconfirmed.
“This move will reduce uncertainties for passengers with waitlist tickets. The passengers will get the first update on waitlist status well in advance,” read the official statement.
Alongside the early charting initiative, Indian Railways is set to launch a modernised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) by December 2025. The upgrade is being developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to streamline ticketing operations and enhance user experience.
Once implemented, the upgraded PRS will be able to process over 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute, marking a nearly fivefold jump from the current capacity of 32,000 bookings per minute.
Alongside this change, the Railways will make Aadhaar authentication mandatory for online Tatkal bookings through the IRCTC website starting July 1, 2025.
For offline bookings at PRS counters and through agents, Aadhaar-based OTP verification will be required from July 15, according to an official statement.
To curb ticketing malpractices, agents will be barred from booking Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window—10 to 10:30 AM for AC and 11 to 11:30 AM for non-AC classes, it added.
Officials said these changes are part of a broader initiative to modernise the ticketing system, reduce touting, and improve berth allocation efficiency.
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