In a major upgrade, Indian Railways will now let passengers choose their preferred seats or berths while booking tickets—just like airline passengers.
A new fare calendar will also help travelers select cheaper travel dates. These features aim to make train bookings smarter, more transparent, and user-friendly.
Special Features for Priority Categories
The updated system will include new options for Divyangjan (persons with disabilities), students, and patients, making the platform more inclusive.
These changes support the Railway Ministry’s goal of building an accessible and efficient booking experience for everyone.
Reservation Charts Will Be Ready Earlier
One of the key improvements is the early finalisation of reservation charts.
Currently, charts are prepared 4 hours before departure, but now this will shift to 8 hours before.
For morning trains that leave before 2 PM, charts will be ready by 9 PM the night before.
This gives travelers, especially those from rural or remote areas, more time to adjust their plans.
High-Speed, Tech-Powered Booking System
The upgraded Passenger Reservation System (PRS)—developed by Centre for Railway
Information Systems (CRIS)—will be five times faster than the existing one.
It will handle:
1.5 lakh bookings per minute
Over 40 lakh enquiries simultaneously
The system will offer a multilingual and mobile-friendly interface to improve access for users across the country.
Verified Tatkal Bookings from July 1
Starting July 1, only verified users will be allowed to book Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC website to curb fraud.
Verification will be done using Aadhaar or government-issued ID through DigiLocker.
Later in the month, OTP-based login will also be introduced to make the booking system more secure and transparent.
