Ticket Booking: Indian Railways is continuously taking new steps to make its ticketing system more secure, transparent and modern. In this direction, Railways is now making major changes in the rules of Tatkal ticket booking.
In the coming days, Tatkal tickets available over the counter will be issued only after OTP verification. That means, without confirmation of mobile number and OTP, it will be almost impossible to book a ticket. Its objective is to completely stop the misuse of tickets through touting, fake booking and wrong numbers.
Complaints about misuse of Tatkal tickets have been received for years. Many times tickets were booked with the help of agents’ collusion, fake mobile numbers and false identities. Railways believes that the OTP-based system will eliminate these problems to a great extent and only genuine passengers will be able to get tickets. This will increase transparency in the booking process and also the confidence of passengers.
Railways has already successfully implemented this system in online ticketing. Aadhaar-based authentication for online tatkal tickets was introduced in July 2025 and online OTP verification was made mandatory for all general reservations in October 2025. Passengers accepted these changes easily and Railways got more transparency in ticket booking.
Now the same rule is being applied on counter tickets also. From November 17, 2025, Railways had started the pilot project of OTP-based Tatkal ticket booking at the counter. This has been gradually expanded to 52 trains. In the new system, an OTP is sent to the passenger on the mobile number given in the booking form. The ticket is issued only after the correct OTP is given at the counter. If the OTP is incorrect or the mobile number is invalid, the ticket booking will be stopped immediately.
Railways plans to soon implement this system on all trains and all stations. Its objective is not only to make technical improvements but also to make the ticket distribution system more equitable and secure. This will prevent irregularities in ticket selling and will also ensure that the ticket goes to the right passenger.
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