The Indian Railways (IR) has now made it mandatory for passengers booking Tatkal tickets at reservation counters to provide a one-time password (OTP) sent to their mobile phone.
Under the new system, once a traveller fills out the reservation form and gives their mobile number, the clerk sends an OTP to that number. Only after successful OTP verification will the Tatkal ticket be issued.
This move aims to curb misuse of the last-minute booking facility and crack down on touts and agents who monopolize Tatkal tickets — ensuring genuine passengers have fair access.
The OTP-based system for counter bookings was launched as a pilot on 17 November 2025.
It initially covered a few trains, but has already been expanded to 52 services, with plans to roll it out to all remaining trains in the next few days.
Importantly, this OTP requirement applies only to Tatkal (immediate) tickets booked at counters — it does not affect bookings or ordinary ticket reservations.
With this update, as well as earlier steps like Aadhaar-based OTP verification for online bookings since July 2025, the Railways is steadily strengthening ticketing transparency and preventing exploitation of Tatkal facilities.#IndianRailways #Tatkal #RailwaysUpdate #OTP #TicketBooking #TravelSafely
