Indian Railways to Generate 150,000 Tickets Per Minute, Reservation Charts Eight Hours Earlier

A new passenger reservation system will be implemented by the end of this year. Read the full story.

The Indian Railways is implementing new plans to improve passenger services. Work is underway to speed up the reservation system. A new passenger reservation system will be implemented by the end of this year. Under this, the capacity to generate tickets, currently 32,000 per minute, will be increased almost fivefold to over 1.5 lakh per minute. The time for releasing reservation charts is also being changed. Now, the chart will be released eight hours before the train’s departure, instead of four hours. The railways will implement this in a phased manner.

The Indian Railways is working to make the travel experience more passenger-centric. The railways is taking several steps to make ticket booking easier. Recently, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of these improvements. He stressed that the ticketing system should be smart, transparent, accessible, and efficient. The plan should focus on passenger convenience. This system should ensure a smooth and comfortable travel experience for our passengers.

Improvements in Charting

Currently, the reservation chart is prepared four hours before the train’s departure. This creates uncertainty for passengers. This uncertainty poses a serious problem, especially for passengers coming from nearby areas to catch the train. Taking note of this, the Railway Board has proposed preparing the reservation chart eight hours before departure. For trains departing before 2 pm, the plan is to prepare the chart at 9 pm the previous day. The Railway Minister approved this proposal and instructed the board to implement it in a phased manner to avoid any disruption. This step will reduce uncertainty for passengers with waiting tickets. It will also provide more time to make alternative arrangements if the waiting ticket is not confirmed.

Instant Ticket Booking System to Change from 1 July

For streamlined authentication for instant booking, from 1 July, Indian Railways will only allow verified users to book instant tickets on the IRCTC website and mobile app. Furthermore, from the end of July, OTP-based authentication will be implemented for instant booking. Authentication should be done using Aadhaar or any other verifiable government ID available in the user’s DigiLocker account.