Vadodara : Western Railway is implementing a significant amendment to the Tatkal booking system following guidelines issued by the Railway Board. Under the new procedure, Tatkal tickets will now be issued only after the verification of a One Time Password generated by the system. This code will be sent to the mobile number provided by the passenger at the time of booking, and the ticket will be generated solely upon the successful validation of this password.
According to a press release issued by Vineet Abhishek, the Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, and as per agency report, this OTP-based authentication system was initially implemented on December 1, 2025, for the Mumbai Central - Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express. Following this initial phase, the system is being extended to several other prominent trains starting from December 5, 2025.
The trains scheduled to adopt this system from the fifth of December include the Mumbai Central - Indore Duranto Express, Mumbai Central - Hisar Duranto Express, Mumbai Central - Hapa Duranto Express, and the Ahmedabad - Pune Duranto Express. Additionally, the Sabarmati - Jodhpur Vande Bharat, Mumbai Central - New Delhi Rajdhani Tejas, Mumbai Central - Hazrat Nizamuddin A.K. Rajdhani Tejas Express, and the Sabarmati - New Delhi Rajdhani Express will also operate under these new booking protocols.
This new system applies to all Tatkal bookings made through computerized PRS counters, authorized agents, the IRCTC website, and the IRCTC mobile app. The primary objective of this change is to bring transparency to the Tatkal booking process and ensure better facilities for genuine passengers seeking tickets. Travelers are requested to provide a valid mobile number during the booking process to ensure the verification completes smoothly, and Western Railway has urged all passengers to take note of this important modification.
