Tatkal booking will require Aadhaar authentication from July 1

NEW DELHI: From July 1, only users who have authenticated their IRCTC account with Aadhaar will be able to book Tatkal tickets through its website and app. To make the process more fool-proof, the use of OTP for Aadhaar authentication will be introduced from July 15, the railway ministry said on Wednesday.

The new norms have been notified to check malpractices by agents and ensure that only genuine passengers benefit from the Tatkal scheme. The ministry has urged people to ensure Aadhaar linkage with their IRCTC user profiles to avoid inconvenience.

Even to buy paper tickets at rail ticket windows from July 15, passengers or their representatives will have to provide a mobile number on which an OTP will be sent for verification purposes.

“Certain provisions have also been made to ensure that bots (or other software means) are not able to book tickets faster than genuine users,” a senior railway official said.

As per the notification, authorised ticketing agents will not be permitted to book opening-day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window, a move aimed at preventing bulk bookings during this critical period. “For AC classes, this restriction will apply from 10 am to 10.30 am, and for non-AC classes, from 11 am to 11:30 am,” it said.

Around 2.2 lakh passengers book Tatkal tickets through the IRCTC website and app daily. An analysis of online Tatkal ticket booking patterns from May 24 to June 2 by the railways showed that on average 5,615 out of 1.1 lakh AC tickets were booked in the first minute after the window opened. Another 22,827 tickets were booked in the second minute.

In the non-AC category, an average of around 1.2 lakh tickets were booked online per day. Of these, 4,724 tickets were booked in the first minute and 20,786 in the second minute.

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