Railways to introduce OTP Process for Tatkal Booking System for Reservations
Indian Railways will soon introduce OTP-based verification for Tatkal counter bookings to curb proxy bookings and strengthen transparency. Pilot phase completed for 52 trains.
In order to improvise the Tatkal ticketing system, the Indian Railways is all set to introduce an OTP-based verification process at reservation counters. The mechanism involves the passengers to authenticate every Tatkal counter booking through a one-time password sent directly to their mobile phones.
According to the officials of the Railway Ministry, it has been confirmed that this pilot initiative was launched on 17 November 2025 and already been completed. However, a formal announcement of the rollout date is expected soon. This system was initially activated for 52 trains, and as per the authorities the results were highly acceptable, expected to follow-up a rapid expansion to cover all trains in the coming days.
In this new protocol, passengers booking Tatkal tickets at counters will have to write their mobile number on the reservation slip. This will further trigger an OTP by the clerk which the traveller must relay at the window. This will successfully verify the issued ticket. This will act as powerful authorization to dismantle the orthodox system of proxy bookings, inflated prices, and manipulated queues.
The senior ministry stated that this will be a part of a wider crackdown on malpractice in the Tatkal system. The Railways earlier this year made Aadhaar linking mandatory for online Tatkal bookings and this new protocol of OTP process will intend to create a uniform identity-based verification regime.