Indian Railways Revamps 40-Year-Old Reservation System With New Tech to Prevent Tatkal Fraud

The Union Railway Ministry is overhauling its 40-year-old ticket reservation system to make bookings five times faster, prevent Tatkal ticket fraud, reduce queues, and improve online and counter passenger experience.

Indian Railways

New Delhi: The Union Railway Ministry is kicking off a major overhaul of its 40-year-old ticket reservation system. The government says that with new technology, you'll be able to book train tickets five times faster than before. The current software used for booking reserved tickets for long-distance trains at station counters is old. Once this is completely replaced, booking clerks can issue tickets much quicker. Officials believe this will cut down the long queues and hassles for passengers.

A key goal of the new system is to stop the fraud and touts involved in reserved ticketing. The Railways plans to use modern tech to end the practice of agents grabbing ‘Tatkal’ tickets, especially during festival seasons. This upgrade will cost around ₹1,000 crore. With about 2.5 crore people travelling by train daily, the Railway Ministry stated that this change is being made with passenger convenience in mind.

Railways: New System to End Tatkal Scams

The new system will make it much easier to book tickets, both online and at counters. Officials said that many of the current technical glitches will be fixed, and the ticketing process will be designed to keep touts out. Another major aim for the Railways is to eliminate the waiting list. The government has said that work is underway to improve the system so that every passenger gets a confirmed ticket.

A senior official mentioned that trials for the new system are already in progress at the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). It is likely to be launched next month and could be fully operational by June. The new system won't depend on just one vendor or company and will have a multi-lingual interface. Right now, only 25,000 tickets can be issued per minute. With the new system, this will jump to 1,25,000 tickets per minute. This is expected to significantly reduce the rush for online bookings and at counters.

Officials say that touts currently exploit loopholes in the existing system, using special apps and websites to book tickets in advance. The Railways has clarified that the new system will help prevent these scams and ensure that genuine passengers get the tickets.