Indian Railways Makes Changes to Online Ticket Booking: Know These Rules If You Book Tickets Through IRCTC

Indian Railways has made major changes to online ticket booking rules to curb ticket touting. Now, on the first day of ticket booking, tickets can only be booked through Aadhaar-verified IRCTC accounts.

Passengers traveling on Indian trains have likely faced one problem or another, the main one being the unavailability of tickets, especially during festivals. People have to book their tickets online almost 2 or 3 months in advance, but even then, there's no guarantee that their ticket will be confirmed. This is because ticket touts buy a large number of tickets through online booking software, preventing genuine travelers from getting tickets. To stop this touting, Indian Railways has made significant changes to the rules and process of ticket booking.

New Ticket Booking Rules

Indian Railways had already implemented Aadhaar verification for online ticket booking to improve passenger convenience and prevent ticket touting. Now, making this rule even stricter, the railways have implemented new rules.  When online ticket booking opens, approximately 2 months before the train journey, tickets cannot be booked without Aadhaar verification on the first day. This rule was initially only for 15 minutes, but to make it more effective, it has now been extended to 2 hours, so that tickets cannot be booked without Aadhaar verification for a longer period.

Railway Board Issues Order

The Railway Board issued an official letter to the Principal Chief Commercial Managers (PCCMs) of Zonal Railways on December 18, 2025, regarding the implementation of these new rules. The letter clearly states that, under the new Advance Reservation Period (ARP) rules, on the first day of ticket booking, tickets can only be booked through Aadhaar-verified IRCTC accounts until midnight.

Ticket Booking Without Aadhaar Verification Suspended

According to this rule, only those whose Aadhaar verification has been completed will be able to book tickets quickly. Under this new rule, on the day ticket booking opens, only those whose Aadhaar details have been verified by IRCTC will be able to book tickets until midnight. This means that those without an Aadhaar-verified account will not be able to book tickets at all on that day. The railways will implement these rules gradually and with thorough preparation, ensuring that genuine passengers who actually need tickets have a better chance of securing them, while preventing bulk bookings and ticket scalping.