railways-to-prepare-reservation-charts-8-hours-before-departure

In a bid to improve travel planning for passengers from remote areas and suburban pockets, the Ministry of Railways has resolved to prepare reservation charts for long-distance trains eight hours before departure, doubling the current window of four hours.

 

The decision, seen as part of a broader digital modernisation push, was taken at a recent review meeting chaired by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday.

 

“It will benefit passengers travelling from remote locations or suburbs of major cities for catching long-distance trains. It will also provide more time to make alternative arrangements in case the wait list is not confirmed,” the statement noted.

 

Officials have been instructed to upgrade the Passenger Reservation System (PRS), with the new platform allowing over 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute—up nearly fivefold from the existing 32,000.

 

Railway Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw directs the Railway Board to begin implementing the preparation of reservation charts eight hours before train departure in a phased manner.

The move aims to reduce uncertainties for passengers with waitlisted tickets.@RailMinIndia |… pic.twitter.com/tw0tgW0jtH

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) June 29, 2025

 

Also read: Domestic peace can help avoid train derailment: Indian Railways

 

The modernised PRS will come equipped with a multilingual, user-friendly interface, incorporating features such as seat selection and a fare calendar, alongside integrated booking provisions for Divyangjan (differently-abled passengers), students and patients, the ministry added.

 

Notably, the government is tightening its grip on Tatkal ticketing processes as well. From 1st July, Indian Railways will permit Tatkal bookings only from authenticated users on the IRCTC website and mobile application.

 

By the end of July, one-time-password (OTP) based authentication will be mandatory for all such bookings. Minister Vaishnaw directed that the verification process include Aadhaar or other government IDs retrievable via the user’s DigiLocker account.

 

“The authentication should be done using Aadhaar or any other verifiable government ID available in the user's DigiLocker account,” the ministry quoted the minister as saying.

 

According to the ministry, these measures form part of Indian Railways’ ongoing initiative to make its services more efficient, transparent and citizen-centric.