New Delhi. There is news of relief for railway passengers. A new rule for train ticket booking has come into effect from today, which will allow Aadhaar verified IRCTC users to book tickets for a longer time than before. The purpose of this change is to make the e-ticketing system more transparent and prevent fake booking.

What has changed in the new rule?

Now Aadhaar verified IRCTC users will be able to book General Reserve tickets till midnight on the first day of the Advance Reservation Period (ARP). Earlier this facility was available only for a limited time. The new rule will especially benefit those passengers who have to book early for confirmed tickets.

What will be the rules at PRS counter?

Railways has clarified that there has been no change in the rules for booking tickets through computerized PRS counters. This means that this decision will not have any impact on passengers taking offline tickets.

Why was Aadhaar verification made necessary?

According to the Railway Ministry, the e-ticketing system is being strengthened with Aadhaar verification. This will prevent attempts to book tickets through bots, agents and fake IDs. For this, Railways is also using new technology so that those who book tickets wrongly can be identified.

What was the rule earlier? What changed now?

Till now, Aadhaar verified users were allowed to book tickets only for a limited time (first till 10 am, then at 12 pm and later till 4 pm) from 8 am on the day of ARP opening. Railways extended the booking time in phases over the past few months. First just for the first 15 minutes, then 8 to 10 am, then 8 to 12 noon, and then 8 am to 4 pm. Now under the new rule this limit has been increased further.

How will passengers benefit from this new system?

With this new rule, common passengers will get more time to book tickets, the chances of getting confirmed tickets will increase and the arbitrariness of agents will be curbed. This step of Railways is considering digital ticket booking as safe, transparent and in the interest of passengers.