Starting July 1, 2025, only Aadhaar-authenticated users will be allowed to book Tatkal railway tickets on the IRCTC website and app, a move aimed at ensuring fair access and protecting genuine passengers, according to a press release by the Union Ministry of Railways.
From July 15 onwards, Aadhaar-based OTP authentication will also become mandatory for booking Tatkal train tickets online, as well as at PRS counters and authorised agents.
Additionally, the new order also restricts the agent bookings for both AC and non-AC tickets in the first 30 minutes.
Introduced in 1997, the Tatkal booking scheme is used for booking train journeys at very short notice, both online and at railway stations.
Tatkal tickets booked through IRCTC’s official website and mobile app will be available only to users who have authenticated their accounts with Aadhaar.
To book Tatkal tickets from the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters at railway stations and through authorised agents, OTP authentication via the mobile number provided by the user at the time of booking will be compulsory from 15th July.
The current press release from the Ministry of Railways aims to enhance user authentication, reduce misuse of the scheme, and prevent bulk bookings made immediately after the window opens.
The notice further clarifies the new provisions for authorised agents, stating, “to prevent bulk bookings during the critical opening period, authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways will not be permitted to book opening-day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window. For AC classes, this restriction applies from 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM, and for non-AC classes, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM.”
With the railway’s significant updates to the Tatkal ticket booking system, all users booking through the official website and mobile apps will have to link their Aadhaar ID to their IRCTC accounts to proceed with Tatkal bookings from July onwards.
