Railways revamp ticket booking system, what to expect from July

Beginning this month, Indian Railways will introduce a set of ticketing reforms. Perhaps the most significant change comes in the form of compulsory Aadhaar authentication.

Starting July, only Aadhaar authenticated users will be allowed to book Tatkal train tickets on the IRCTC website and mobile app.

Earlier, there were more than 130 million active subscribers on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website, of which only 12 million were Aadhaar-verified, according to an official release.

IRCTC users can authenticate their online identity (ID) by logging on to their respective accounts and complete the process by providing the Unique Identity Number mentioned on Aadhaar Card.

Tatkal system, the emergency reservation mechanism of Indian Railways, has been facing allegations of misuse since a long time. It was initially introduced in December, 1997 to facilitate seat reservation for sudden plans for travel, as in an emergency.

The scheme was revised in August 2004 and thereafter, modifications were introduced as and when deemed required.

There have been several complaints noted, especially on the social media, about alleged fraudulent means being employed on online Tatkal bookings.

Some said it was almost impossible to log on when the bookings slots opened in the morning on the IRCTC website. There were claims that even if logged, by the time one could finish the process, all available berths reflected as already booked. On most occasions, this reportedly happened within an hour of the process beginning online.

One major accusation was against agents, who were said to be operating under aliases and multiple identities.

Recently, Indian Railways launched a campaign against the use of automated tools to book tickets online.

Through special monitoring efforts, the Railways deactivated and blocked over 24 million users in the past six months (till June). Additionally, around 2 million other accounts have been flagged as suspicious and are under investigation based on their Aadhaar and other documents.

Accounts found to be suspicious will be closed, said the Railways in a statement.

It added that every day, around 2,25,000 passengers book Tatkal tickets online. The Railways’ analysis of the online Tatkal ticket booking pattern from May 24 to June 2 revealed that on average only 5,615 out of 1,08,000 AC class tickets were booked in the first minute after the window opened.

Meanwhile, 22,827 tickets were booked in the second minute.

In the AC class, an average of 67,159 tickets were booked online within the first 10 minutes of the window opening, representing 62.5% of all tickets booked online.

Rest 37.5% tickets were booked between 10 minutes till chart preparation in which 3.01% of Tatkal tickets were booked after 10 hours of the window opening.

In the non-AC category from 24 May to 2 June, the analysis found, an average of 1,18,567 tickets were booked online daily. Of these, 4,724 tickets (about 4%) were booked within the first minute, while 20,786 tickets (about 17.5%) were booked in the second minute.

Thus, it established that approximately 66.4% of tickets were sold within the first 10 minutes after the window opened.

Approximately 84.02% of tickets were sold within the first hour of the window opening, with the remaining tickets sold over the next 10 hours.

The findings showed that Tatkal tickets were made available to passengers through the online system, and around 12% of Tatkal tickets were booked 8 to 10 hours after the window opened.

From July, account holders who link their accounts with Aadhaar will get priority booking during the first 10 minutes of Tatkal ticket sales. Even authorised IRCTC agents are not allowed to book tickets within the first 10 minutes of the Tatkal window opening.

Under the new rule, Indian Railways has made it mandatory that a person’s unique identification number as on Aadhaar be linked while booking.

Once the ID is updated, a user can use it for booking tickets using a one-time password (OTP) that will be generated on the person’s mobile phone linked with Aadhaar card. The OTP has to be provided for booking to establish veracity.

According to the Railways, the verification ensures that even if someone manages to log on to the IRCTC platform using fraudulent or stolen credentials, they will still require an OTP for the reservation to go through.

Attempts to book without Aadhaar linkage will simply be blocked, ensuring anonymous or duplicate IDs cannot operate on the system.

The objective is that every Tatkal booking is tied to a unique biometric-backed identity,

This extra barrier is also being said to help against bulk-booking by agents, shell or fraud accounts, and automated systems.

Many passengers that FIRST DRAFT spoke to welcomed the changes saying it may prove harder for several operators to bypass the new authentication process.

Some looked forward to a smoother, streamlined exercise but wanted to experience the actual process before commenting.

However, there were also a few murmurs of concern over sharing such personal details through the unique identification number.

Doubts arise since Aadhar Card is now linked with not only mobile phones, but other personal details like bank account number, biometrics, etc.

On questions over the safety of unique identification number, the Railways has assured that adequate measures have been taken to make the system efficient.

On the question of bulk bookings, authorised agents will not be able to operate during the first 30 minutes of the Tatkal window (10:00–10:30 AM for AC class and 11:00–11:30 AM for non-AC class).

Earlier, such travel agents were not specifically restricted during the early minutes of the booking window. This meant that by the time ordinary users logged in, agents had often already grabbed a significant share of the limited Tatkal seats.

The period would thus be suitable for individual passengers, but only those who are conversant with the internet and the booking process.

For those – especially in rural areas or places with less penetration of the internet – it may prove a tougher exercise.

Meanwhile, Tatkal bookings remain available one day in advance, excluding the day of the journey.

Apart from Tatkal booking, Indian Railways is also considering other changes.

Among these are capping the number of “wait list” tickets in long-distance trains and the likelihood of releasing “reservation charts” early.

The Railways is trying out a new exercise where the passengers’ reservation chart is prepared 24 hours before the departure of a train.

Currently, it is still in the testing phase, and would could be rolled out across the country if found effective,

The reservation charts on IRCTC provide information about the status of train reservations, including seat availability and passenger details.

The chart is now shared around four hours before departure. The new rule indeed helps a passenger dispel doubts over travel plans well in advance rather than the last few hours.

On the other hand, this will limit the time for refund of the ticket since once confirmed, the deducted amount is high.

It is yet to be seen how the trial works out.

In another significant decision, the Railway Board has capped the number of WL tickets in long-distance trains.

Since June 16, the new rule ensures that the quota be capped at 25% for each class (Sleeper, 3AC, 2AC and 1AC).

This is said to be an attempt at reducing overcrowding on railway platforms.

Incidentally, this February, overcrowding at New Delhi railway station during the Maha Kumbh festival had led to a stampede that took at least 18 lives and left many injured.

Beyond the revamped booking ecosystem stares a modest fare hike. Mail and Express train fares may be hiked by one paisa per km, while AC coach fares are likely to be raised two paise per km.

However, at the time of writing, reports suggest that suburban and monthly season ticket rates will remain unchanged as will the fares for ordinary second-class tickets up to 500 km.