Indian Railways has introduced an Aadhaar-authentication gate for online bookings on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) platform: from October 1, 2025, only Aadhaar-verified IRCTC users can book general reserved tickets during the first 15 minutes after the reservation window opens; counters remain unchanged and the 10-minute agent restriction continues. The move is pitched as curbing misuse and prioritizing genuine passengers during the initial rush period of opening day bookings, which typically start 60 days before departure.
Separately, the Railways has announced a forthcoming option to reschedule confirmed tickets online without paying cancellation charges, eliminating today’s cancel-and-rebook penalty flow. The feature was outlined by the minister on October 7, 2025, and is expected to go live on IRCTC’s website and app around January 2026; operational specifics (such as fare-difference handling and reschedule limits) will be detailed closer to rollout. Until then, existing cancellation and refund rules remain in force for confirmed and waitlisted tickets.
