Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Jan 1: The Indian Railways has announced a major change in ticket booking rules, making Aadhaar verification mandatory for passengers booking general class tickets on the first day of the advance reservation period through the IRCTC portal, effective January 12.
The new rule follows the implementation of Aadhaar verification for tatkal e-ticket bookings six months ago and aims to ensure that advanced bookings are made only by genuine passengers.
Passengers opting for paper tickets at reservation counters will continue as before, submitting the reservation form along with any valid identity proof.
The Railway Board order specifies that passengers who have not completed Aadhaar verification on the IRCTC portal will be barred from booking tickets on the opening day, which is 60 days prior to a train’s departure, with bookings opening at 8 am.
According to the notification, from December 29, Aadhaar-verified users will be permitted to book tickets between 8 am and noon. From January 5, the time window will expand to 8 am to 4 pm, and from January 12, bookings throughout the day will be restricted to Aadhaar-verified passengers.
Officials cited high demand on certain routes as a key reason for the move. “On popular routes such as Chennai-Howrah, Chennai-New Delhi, Chennai-Jaipur/Jodhpur, and Chennai-Mangaluru, tickets are sold out within minutes of the booking window opening,” a senior railway official stated.
The official added, “This step ensures that genuine passengers benefit from bookings. Tickets for the Mettupalayam-Udagamandalam toy train of the Nilgiris Mountain Railway also sell out quickly throughout the year. During peak seasons, agents often resell these tickets at ?2,000 to ?4,000. Aadhaar verification will prevent misuse of passenger identities by agents.”
The Indian Railways had already made Aadhaar validation mandatory for tatkal e-tickets from July 1 and introduced OTP-based verification for select trains. Currently, 35 trains operated by the Southern Railway out of 340 nationwide have OTP-based booking, including Navajivan Express, Coromandel Express, Alappuzha-Dhanbad Express, Chennai Egmore-CSMT Express, and Chennai Central-Mumbai CSMT Express.
Summary of new booking rules:
- Aadhaar validation extended to general class bookings on the first day (60 days in advance)
- Dec 29 onwards: booking allowed 8 am–12 pm for Aadhaar-verified users only
- Jan 5 onwards: window extended to 8 am–4 pm
- Jan 12 onwards: bookings throughout the day reserved exclusively for Aadhaar-verified users
- OTP-based verification to be implemented for select trains
This step by the Indian Railways is expected to curb ticket scalping, improve passenger fairness, and ensure that high-demand services are accessible to genuine travellers.