OTP must for tatkal railway tickets at counters

Passengers booking tatkal tickets at railway reservation counters will now need to complete a mobile OTP verification before their tickets are confirmed, as the Railways introduces a new authentication step to tighten control over the high-demand, last-minute booking window.

The Ministry of Railways said the OTP-based system, launched on a pilot basis on November 17, began with a limited number of trains, but was quickly expanded to 52 services after early trials. Officials confirmed that the mechanism would be extended to all remaining trains in the coming days.

According to the ministry, the idea behind the new process is to make tatkal bookings more secure and fair for ordinary passengers. “During counter bookings, an OTP is sent to the mobile number provided in the reservation form, and the ticket is confirmed only after successful verification,” the ministry said.

Railway officials noted that the move was aimed at curbing misuse of the tatkal quota and improving access for genuine travellers. They said the feature would help bring greater transparency and convenience while also strengthening security in manual ticketing.

The OTP requirement at counters follows a series of recent steps to prevent manipulation of high-demand tickets. In July, the Railways made Aadhaar-based OTP verification mandatory for all online tatkal bookings. Later, from October 1, only Aadhaar-authenticated users were allowed to book reserved general tickets on the IRCTC platform during the first 15 minutes of the booking window for any train.

Officials said the measures were designed to discourage booking agents from exploiting loopholes and to ensure a more equitable ticketing experience for passengers.