NEW DELHI — The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is going to put a new rule into effect from October 1, 2025, to make it easier to order train tickets and stop people from cheating. This new restriction says that only people having Aadhaar-linked accounts will be permitted to book general reservation tickets during the first 15 minutes after the booking window begins.
This rule, which was already in place for Tatkal ticket bookings, will now also apply to regular reservations. The adjustment is meant to provide real users a better chance of getting a ticket during the busiest times. The Ministry of Railways said in a statement that the move is meant to make sure that the reservation system’s benefits “reach real users and stop misuse by unauthorized or dishonest agents.”
This new rule only applies to reservations made through the IRCTC website and mobile app. People who buy tickets at railway counters will not have to change how they do things. Also, the current rule that stops authorized railway ticketing agents from purchasing tickets within the first 10 minutes of the general reservation window will still be in effect.
The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and IRCTC will both make these technical upgrades to their systems.
IRCTC is working to modernize all of its services, and this digital revamp is a part of that plan. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has gave the company in-principle license to work as an online payment aggregator. This change will let IRCTC handle more transactions, including those from other government and private-sector organizations, which will bring in more money.
Sanjay Kumar Jain, the CMD of IRCTC, said that the organization is continuously exploring for new business prospects and wants to “monetize our websites using artificial intelligence also.” The company’s most recent financial results for the first quarter were likewise good, with a 7% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 330.7 crore and a 3.8% growth in revenue. The e-ticketing and tourist categories were the main drivers of growth, with e-ticketing growing by 9% and tourism growing by 21%.