New Delhi, November 3 (IANS). Railways has taken a big step to increase the convenience of passengers at the time of booking. Under this, booking of Tatkal tickets will now be done through one-time password (OTP) verification at physical reservation counters.
The reports quoted government sources as saying that this system has been started on a pilot basis from November 17. Initially the number of trains was limited, but now it has been increased to 52 trains. In the coming time, it will be implemented in the remaining trains in a phased manner.
Under the new process, while booking Tatkal tickets at physical reservation counters, passengers will receive OTP and only after that the ticket will be booked. This OTP will come on the mobile number which the passenger has given in the reservation form.
The ministry said that Tatkal tickets will be issued only when the OTP is verified. This can stop the manipulation of Tatkal tickets with higher demand.
According to officials, through this step the Railways is trying to deliver Tatkal tickets to the right passengers.
This new move is part of a major change made to the ticketing ecosystem this year. In July, the Railways had introduced Aadhaar-based OTP verification for online tatkal booking to prevent automated or fraudulent transactions.
Subsequently, from October 1, only Aadhaar authenticated users were allowed to book reserved general tickets during the first 15 minutes of opening of the booking window on the IRCTC website or mobile app.
Officials say that these steps of Railways will increase transparency, increase convenience for passengers and reduce troubles caused by bad elements.
He further said that the purpose of these reforms is to give common passengers a better chance of getting tickets during peak demand.
–IANS
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