Indian Railways has made another change to the online train ticket booking system on IRCTC.
The Railways Ministry says the move is aimed at ensuring that reservation benefits reach genuine passengers.
It also states that the change will help prevent misuse by touts and other fraudulent actors.
Last month, Indian Railways made Aadhaar verification compulsory during the first 15 minutes of general reservation booking through IRCTC. This applies to tickets booked on the website as well as the mobile app. The Ministry said there is no change in the timings for the booking of general reserved tickets through PRS counters.
“There shall also be no change in the timings of the restriction of 10 minutes of the opening of general reservation during which authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways shall not be allowed to book opening day reserved tickets,” the Ministry of Railways said in a statement.
According to the latest update, Aadhaar-based authentication is now required during morning hours for booking reserved train tickets online.
“With effect from 28th October 2025, only Aadhaar authenticated users are allowed to book tickets between 8 AM and 10 AM on the first day of opening of reserved ticket booking,” IRCTC said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Indian Railways also announced new rules for Tatkal tickets.
Tatkal tickets booked through IRCTC’s official platforms will be available only to Aadhaar-authenticated users. The new rule states, “To prevent bulk bookings during the critical opening period, authorised ticketing agents of Indian Railways will not be permitted to book opening-day Tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of the booking window,” it said.