Indian Railways Train Ticket Booking New Rule: Railways has also changed the rules for booking general reserve tickets from October 1, 2025. Now, only Aadhaar authenticated users will be able to book tickets for the first 15 minutes after booking opens.
If you book train tickets online in the morning, this news is important for you. Indian Railways has now made a major change to its ticket booking rules. Effective October 28, 2025, Aadhaar authentication will be required for booking train tickets on IRCTC between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM.
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According to IRCTC, this rule will only apply to the time slots when ticket demand is highest. That is, from 8 AM to 10 AM, the peak booking period, only Aadhaar-verified users will be able to book tickets.
Why was this decision taken?
The Railways states that this two-hour time slot is in high demand. Tickets for popular trains open during this time, and instances of system abuse or fraudulent bookings are often reported. Therefore, the Railways has decided that during these two hours in the morning, tickets can only be booked from Aadhaar-verified accounts.
At the same time, during the rest of the time i.e. from 10 am till night, users will be able to book tickets even without Aadhaar verification.
How to link IRCTC account with Aadhaar?
If your account isn’t currently linked to Aadhaar, it’s important to verify it immediately. You can easily complete this process by logging into your IRCTC account.
- You can visit the website http://www.irctc.co.in or open the mobile app
- Login to your account
- Go to the “My Profile” section and click on “Authenticate User”
- Now enter your Aadhaar Number or Virtual ID
- Check the details and click on “Verify details and receive OTP”.
- Enter the OTP and press the “Submit” button.
- After this your Aadhaar authentication process will be completed and a successful verification page will appear.
This rule is also applicable on Tatkal ticket booking.
IRCTC had already made Aadhaar authentication mandatory for Tatkal ticket bookings from July 1, 2025. Aadhaar-based OTP verification will also be required for booking Tatkal tickets online from July 15, 2025.
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This rule applies only to online bookings. If a passenger books a ticket from a PRS counter, the old timings and procedures will apply.
New rules for general ticket booking also
Railways has also changed the rules for booking General Reserve tickets, effective October 1, 2025. Now, only Aadhaar-authenticated users will be able to book tickets for the first 15 minutes after booking opens. However, there are no changes to ticket bookings from PRS counters.
The Railways says this will prevent fake accounts, duplicate bookings, and automated ticket purchasing agents. It will increase the chances of genuine passengers getting tickets and make the system more transparent.
