More transparency in reservations as Rlys revises chart timing, cracks down on bots
New Delhi: Now, advanced technological safeguards will crack down on bots, touts and fraudulent software that often deprive genuine passengers of confirmed tickets within seconds of the booking window opening. By deploying bot-detection systems, restricting automated booking tools and introducing Aadhaar-based OTP verification, the Railways moves towards curbing misuse of the Tatkal scheme and making the reservation process more secure, equitable and passenger-friendly.
While announcing a slew of reforms on Tuesday, Rail Minister Aswini Vaishnaw said that this move focuses on passenger convenience, with measures to curb misuse of ticketing systems and improve access for genuine travellers. Ticket black marketing and misuse of the Tatkal system had been a prolonged major concern. Hence, further technological interventions curtailed the ability of agents and touts to book tickets immediately after the Tatkal window opens, alongside the introduction of Aadhaar-based OTP verification. A detailed data analysis led to the identification and removal of nearly 3 crore fake accounts from the IRCTC system, resulting in a significant improvement in ticket availability.
The minister also mentioned, while announcing here in the national capital, that to address this, the earlier cancellation time windows of 48, 12, and 4 hours before departure have been revised to 72, 24, and 8 hours, aligned with the preparation of reservation charts, which now happens 9-18 hours before departure instead of 4 hours earlier. This will be done at no extra cost to passengers.
As per Vaishnaw, the reservation charts improve passenger convenience by reducing uncertainty, enabling better planning for waitlisted travellers, and supporting passengers from remote locations. Early charting further allows alternative travel arrangements, optimises vacant berth utilisation, and boosts transparency. These changes are aimed at removing incentives for last-minute speculative bookings and ensuring tickets are available to genuine passengers.
Rail Minister also announced that counter tickets can now be cancelled from any railway station across the country, removing the earlier restriction of cancellation only at the originating station. He said the requirement of filing a Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) for e-tickets has also been removed, and refunds will now be processed automatically upon cancellation.
In another measure, passengers can now upgrade their travel class up to 30 minutes before departure, whereas earlier changes were restricted to before chart preparation.
