New Rules 2025: Know the new rules of railways before booking tickets for Diwali-Chhath, otherwise you will face problems..

As soon as the festival season arrives, the demand for train tickets increases the most. In festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, and Chhath, lakhs of people go to their homes, and there is a huge rush in ticket booking. If you are also going to travel by train this season, then this news is very important for you. Indian Railways has changed many rules of train ticket booking since the beginning of this year. These changes will affect Tatkal tickets, waiting list, fares, and reservation charts.

Here we are telling you all the new rules in simple language...which is very important to keep in mind. Otherwise, there may be a problem in getting a confirmed train ticket.

1. Aadhaar is necessary for a Tatkal ticket

Now, to book a Tatkal ticket on IRCTC, it is necessary to have an Aadhaar number linked to your account. Railways has clarified that only Aadhaar-linked users will be able to book tickets for 10 minutes before the booking starts. This means that if your IRCTC account is not linked to Aadhaar, then the chances of getting a Tatkal ticket will be reduced.

2. Ticket booking will not be done without Aadhaar OTP

Railways has also made Aadhaar OTP mandatory from July 15. Now, whenever you book a ticket from the IRCTC app or website, an OTP will come to the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar (Aadhaar verification IRCTC). Booking will not be completed without entering the OTP. This rule has been brought especially to make Tatkal ticket booking (IRCTC Tatkal Booking Time) safe and transparent. Apart from this, railway agents will not be able to book any ticket for the first 30 minutes of the opening of the ticket (Tatkal Ticket Booking Time).

3. Emergency quota (EQ) rules changed

Railways reserves some seats in every train for categories like VIP, railway staff, and medical emergency. This is called the emergency quota (Emergency quota for train ticket bookings). Now, to book tickets from this quota, the request will have to be given one day in advance. If the train is between 12 pm and 2 pm, then the request has to be made by 12 pm on the previous day. On the other hand, if the train is between 2 pm and 12 pm, then the request has to be sent by 4 pm on the previous day. There will be no benefit in requesting on the same day when the train is.

4. Railway ticket fare increased

From July 1, there has been a slight increase in train fares. There has been an increase of 1 paisa per kilometer in non-AC class tickets and 2 paisa per kilometer in AC class. If you travel 500 km, then you will have to pay 10 rupees more in AC and 5 rupees more in non-AC. This increase can be from 10 to 20 rupees for a distance of 1000 km. Railways hopes that this will generate additional revenue of more than Rs 900 crore annually.

5. Limit on waiting tickets

Now, only 25% of the total seats in any class will be issued as waiting tickets (Indian Railways Waiting Ticket). Suppose there are 100 seats in a coach, then no more than 25 waiting tickets will be available. This rule will create problems for passengers on crowded routes, but will make the booking system clean and transparent. Women and disabled passengers have been given relief from this rule.

6. Now, the reservation chart will be made 8 hours in advance

Railways have also changed the time of making the chart. Now the reservation chart (Indian Railways Reservation Charts) will be ready 8 hours before the departure of the train. Earlier it used to be made 4 hours in advance. The advantage of this will be that passengers will know in advance whether their ticket is confirmed or not. If the ticket remains in waiting, then they will have a full 8 hours to choose another option.

All these new rules of Railways have been brought for the convenience of passengers and to make the booking system transparent. From Aadhaar linking to changes in fares and waiting ticket limit, every change will have a direct impact on common passengers. If you are going to travel in the coming months, then update your IRCTC account in time and book tickets only after understanding these rules.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from NDTV India. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.