Railway authorities have officially mandated Aadhaar verification through OTP for online ticket bookings under the Tatkal system across the country, as stated by a senior railway official. Uchit Singhal, the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of the Jammu Division in Northern Railway, announced that from July 15, Aadhaar OTP verification is necessary for online Tatkal bookings.

 Singhal emphasised that these changes were implemented to ensure fair and transparent access to Tatkal tickets for passengers. It is aimed to protect their interests and guarantee that genuine users benefit from the system. He stated that passengers would not be able to obtain Tatkal tickets without the mobile OTP verification. According to him, Tatkal tickets would be available for booking through the official IRCTC website, mobile app, or the Indian Railways' PRS counters.

Only authorized agents
He noted that tickets would only be accessible through authorized agents after the OTP generated by the Railway Reservation System, sent to the user's mobile number during booking, had been authenticated. Furthermore, he informed that individuals booking Tatkal tickets would need to carry a mobile device with a SIM card linked to their Aadhaar number.

No bulk booking
Additionally, the railways indicated that bulk booking would not be permitted during the first 30 minutes of the booking window. Singhal explained that to prevent bulk bookings during the initial reservation period, authorized ticketing agents of Indian Railways would be prohibited from booking Tatkal tickets in the first 30 minutes. This restriction is set to be in effect 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 urged passengers to take note of these changes and ensure that their profiles are linked to their Aadhaar numbers to avoid any inconvenience.