The OTP will be sent to the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking. Railway officials said, “Those taking Tatkal reservation tickets will now have to carry a mobile with a SIM card linked to their Aadhaar number while booking tickets.”
The railway administration has officially made Aadhaar verification through OTP mandatory for online ticket booking under the Tatkal system across the country. A senior railway official gave this information on Wednesday. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Northern Railway’s Jammu Division, Uchit Singhal announced that Aadhaar verification through OTP has become mandatory for online Tatkal booking from July 15.
Singhal stressed that these amendments have been made to ensure fair and transparent access to Tatkal tickets for passengers, protect their interests and ensure that genuine users are able to avail the benefits of the system.
He said, ‘Passengers will not be able to get tatkal tickets without verification through mobile OTP. Under the new system, tatkal tickets will be available for booking through IRCTC’s official website, mobile app or PRS counters of Indian Railways.’
The official said that tickets will be made available for booking through authorised agents only after the railway reservation system generates an OTP. This OTP will be sent to the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking. Singhal said, ‘Those taking Tatkal reservation tickets will now have to carry a mobile with SIM card linked to their Aadhaar number while booking tickets.’
The railways also said that large number of bookings will not be allowed during the first 30 minutes of the booking window. Singhal said, ‘In order to prevent large number of bookings during the initial period of rail reservation, authorised ticket agents of Indian Railways will not be allowed to book Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window.’
This restriction will be applicable from 10 am to 10:30 am for AC classes and from 11 am to 11:30 am for non-AC classes. The railway administration has requested passengers to take note of these changes and ensure that their profiles are linked to their Aadhaar numbers to avoid inconvenience.
