July 1 Railway Alert: From fare hike to tatkal, check three big changes coming into effect
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Train fares to rise from July 1
Train chart preparation to start 8 hours before departure
Aadhaar for Tatkal booking from July 1, 2025
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New passenger reservation system by December 2025
In a significant move to improve train travel, Indian Railways is preparing to roll out major changes in how passengers book tickets. The updates include early chart preparation for waitlisted tickets, stricter verification for Tatkal bookings, and a complete overhaul of the Passenger Reservation System (PRS). Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the focus is on building a system that is "intelligent, clear, user-friendly and productive" to make train journeys smoother.Indian Railways is set to introduce a marginal hike in passenger fares starting July 1. For Mail and Express trains, the fare in non-AC classes will increase by 1 paise per kilometre, while AC class fares will go up by 2 paise per kilometre. The fare for second-class travel up to 500 km will remain unchanged. However, for journeys exceeding 500 km, the fare may rise by an additional half a paisa per kilometre.Currently, reservation charts are prepared four hours before a train departs. This often leaves waitlisted passengers with very little time to plan alternate travel. To fix this issue, Indian Railways will begin preparing charts eight hours ahead of departure.For trains leaving before 2 PM, the chart will be finalised by 9 PM the previous day. This change will help passengers from remote or suburban areas get clarity on their ticket status earlier and plan accordingly.From July 1, 2025, only verified users will be allowed to book Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC platform. The Railways will also introduce OTP-based verification for Tatkal ticket bookings by the end of July.Users will need to verify their identity using Aadhaar or other valid documents saved in their DigiLocker accounts. This change is aimed at reducing misuse and ensuring genuine access for travellers.Earlier, it was announced that only Aadhaar-authenticated users could book Tatkal tickets. The rules have now been widened to accept other government documents via DigiLocker as well.A major upgrade of the passenger reservation system is currently underway. The Central Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is carrying out this upgrade, which is expected to be completed by December 2025.The new system will be able to handle ten times more bookings than the current one. It will support over 150,000 ticket reservations per minute, compared to the present 32,000. The number of enquiry requests it can process will rise from 400,000 per minute to over 4 million.The updated system will include a modern interface with multi-language support. It will also allow passengers to select seating preferences and check fare calendars. Special features will be available for Divyangjan, students, patients and other specific groups.
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