New Delhi, Nov 3 (LatestNewsX) – In a push to secure the Tatkal booking system and give ordinary passengers a fairer shot at last‑minute tickets, the Railway Ministry has rolled out an OTP‑based verification process for those buying Tatkal tickets at paper counters.
The pilot, launched on 17 November across a handful of trains, now covers 52 routes. The ministry plans to widen the scheme to every service in the coming weeks as part of a staged rollout, according to government officials.
How it works is simple: when you fill out a Tatkal reservation form at a counter and give a mobile number, an OTP is sent to that number. The ticket will only be printed once you enter the correct code, adding an extra security screen that is meant to stop misuse during the high‑traffic Tatkal window.
The change is designed to shut the door on agents and touts who typically grab the scarce Tatkal quotas. By tying every counter transaction to a mobile OTP, the hope is that genuine travellers—not intermediaries—get first dibs on the last‑minute seats.
This new layer is part of a year‑long revamp of the railway’s ticketing machinery. Back in July, the railways introduced Aadhaar‑linked OTP verification for online Tatkal bookings to curb automated and fraudulent orders. Then, starting 1 October, only users authenticated via Aadhaar were allowed to book reserved general tickets during the first 15 minutes of the booking window on the IRCTC website or app.
Officials say that these measures together boost transparency, make the process smoother for passengers, and make it harder for shady players to corner tickets. The overarching goal is to level the playing field and give regular travellers a genuine chance to secure seats when demand peaks.
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