From tomorrow, tatkal e-tickets only for verified users

FROM Tuesday onwards, passengers who have not linked and verified their Aadhaar with their IRCTC accounts will no longer be able to book tatkal tickets online.

- B ANBUSELVAN @Chennai

ROM Tuesday onwards, passengers who have not linked and verified their Aadhaar with their IRCTC accounts will no longer be able to book tatkal tickets online. The railways are yet to announce alternative documents for authentication while booking e-tickets. As a result, users without Aadhaar-linked IRCTC accounts will be able to book tatkal tickets only at reservation counters from Tuesday.

High-demand routes, and are resold at a profit margin of 150% to 200%. On average, around 2.25 lakh tatkal tickets are booked each day across India.

IRCTC and railway officials clarified that Aadhaar authentication is mandatory only for tatkal bookings. "Passengers who haven't validated their Aadhaar can still book regular train tickets through the IRCTC website and app," an official explained.

The integration of the IRCTC website with the UIDAI portal for Aadhaar authentication and OTP verification is likely to increase server load, which could further delay bookings across the country.