Railways' New Rule: Soon, OTP Needed To Confirm Tatkal Train Tickets At Reservation Counters

New Delhi: Very soon, reservation counters across the country will start verifying One-Time Passwords (OTPs) for Tatkal bookings for train journey, as the Indian Railways is all set to implement OTP-based window tickets in Tatkal within the next few days.

As per official sources, an OTP-based tatkal reservation system was proposed by the Railways to make the facility more convenient and secure for common users. Just like OTP verification is done for user authentication or various transactions, Railways will also send an OTP to the phone number on the Tatkal reservation form and confirm the ticket only after verification.

The move comes after several trial runs and successful Aadhaar and OTP rollout for online reservations.

First, the Railways introduced Aadhaar-based authentication for online Tatkal ticketing in July 2025. Next, an OTP-based online reservation system for all general reservations on the first day of booking was implemented in October 2025. Both these initiatives have been successfully adopted by common users, ensuring greater transparency and convenience in the reservation process, Indian Railways said in a release.

Following this, the Railways initiated a pilot project for an OTP-based Tatkal reservation system for tickets booked at reservation counters on November 17, 2025. As of now, the system has been extended to a total of 52 trains. Under this system, when booking a tatkal ticket at a reservation counter, the passenger receives an OTP on the mobile number provided in the reservation form. The ticket is confirmed only after successful OTP verification.

As per officials, within next few days, this OTP-based tatkal reservation system at counters will be implemented for all remaining trains.

"This initiative is aimed at curbing misuse of the tatkal facility and ensuring that genuine passengers have better access to high-demand tickets. This marks a significant step towards enhancing transparency, passenger convenience and security in railway ticket booking," said Indian Railways.

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