Indian Railways to Launch Upgraded Reservation System with Seat Selection and Early Charting

New Delhi, June 29, 2025 — Indian Railways is poised to revolutionize its passenger reservation system, offering passengers the option to choose their seats much like in airlines, and rolling out several new digital features by the end of this year.

A senior Railway Ministry official said the new system will not only enable seat selection but will also introduce a fare calendar to help travelers make cost-effective choices.

“It also has integrated facilities for divyangjan, students, patients, etc.,” the official added.

In another significant change, reservation charts currently prepared four hours before a train’s departure will now be finalized eight hours in advance. For trains departing before 2 pm, charts will be ready by 9 pm the previous evening. Officials said this move aims to reduce uncertainty for passengers, particularly those traveling from remote or suburban areas, by providing timely updates on waitlist status and allowing alternative travel plans if required.

The upgraded Modern Passenger Reservation System (PRS), developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), will handle up to 1.5 lakh bookings per minute nearly five times its current capacity and will expand enquiry capacity from 4 lakh to over 40 lakh per minute.

“The system will offer a multilingual, user-friendly interface to ensure broad accessibility,” said the official.

In an effort to boost security and transparency, Indian Railways will enforce user authentication for Tatkal ticket bookings starting July 1. Only verified users will be able to book Tatkal tickets through the IRCTC website and mobile app. Later in July, an OTP-based system will be introduced, requiring verification through Aadhaar or other government-issued IDs linked to DigiLocker accounts.