The Ministry of Railways has decided to prepare reservation charts for long-distance trains eight hours before departure — up from the current four hours — to help passengers, especially those travelling from remote areas, plan their journeys more effectively.

The decision was taken during a recent review meeting chaired by Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. “It will benefit passengers travelling from remote locations or suburbs of major cities for catching long-distance trains. It will also provide more time to make alternative arrangements in case the wait list is not confirmed,” the ministry said.

For trains departing before 2pm, the reservation chart will now be prepared by 9pm the previous day. The minister has directed officials to implement the change in phases to ensure a smooth transition.

The ministry also announced a major overhaul of the Passenger Reservation System (PRS), expected to be completed by December 2025. The upgraded system will be capable of handling over 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute—five times the current rate of 32,000. Ticket enquiry capacity will also rise significantly, from 4 lakh to over 40 lakh enquiries per minute.

According to the ministry, the new PRS will feature a multilingual and user-friendly interface. Passengers will be able to select seats, view a fare calendar, and access integrated services for Divyangjan, students, and patients.

“Indian Railways is committed to making the end-to-end travel experience passenger-centric,” the ministry said. “A passenger’s journey with the railways begins at the stage of ticket reservation.”

In a further move to enhance transparency and security, the ministry announced that starting July 1, 2025, only authenticated users will be allowed to book Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC website and mobile app. OTP-based authentication will be implemented by the end of July.

“The authentication should be done using Aadhaar or any other verifiable government ID available in the user’s DigiLocker account,” the ministry noted.

“These measures reflect the Railways' continuous efforts to modernise its systems and make them more citizen-friendly,” the statement added.