In a move set to ease travel uncertainties for passengers with waitlisted tickets, Indian Railways is planning to prepare reservation charts eight hours before train departure instead of the current four-hour window. This change, alongside the rollout of an upgraded Passenger Reservation System (PRS) from July 1, 2025, is aimed at improving the overall booking experience and reducing last-minute confusion for passengers, especially those travelling from remote areas to catch long-distance trains.
Reservation chart preparation to begin 8 hours prior
Currently, passengers often face uncertainty until the last few hours before departure as the final reservation chart is prepared just four hours before the train leaves. Under the proposed system, for trains scheduled to depart before 2 PM, the reservation charts will be prepared at 9 PM the previous day, providing passengers with waitlisted tickets an early update on their status. This will allow them to make alternative travel plans if their tickets remain unconfirmed, ensuring smoother planning for travellers commuting from suburban and rural areas to major railway stations.
Upgraded PRS to enhance ticket booking capacity
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently reviewed the progress of the upgraded Passenger Reservation System (PRS), which has been under development for several months by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). From July 1, 2025, the upgraded system will enforce OTP-based authentication for Tatkal bookings on the IRCTC website using Aadhaar or other government-verified IDs available on DigiLocker, ensuring only authenticated users can book Tatkal tickets.
The new PRS is designed to be agile, scalable, and flexible, capable of handling ten times the current load. It will increase the ticket booking capacity significantly, enabling over 1.5 lakh bookings per minute, compared to the current 32,000 tickets per minute. This fivefold increase aims to reduce booking failures during peak demand and enhance the user experience on the IRCTC platform.
Passengers will benefit from a multilingual and user-friendly interface, which will allow them to specify seat preferences, view fare calendars, and access integrated support for Divyangjan, students, patients, and other special categories. These enhancements are part of the Railways’ efforts to modernise its services to cater to India’s rapidly growing passenger demand while making the ticketing process transparent, secure, and efficient.
The changes in chart preparation timing and the PRS upgrade mark a significant step towards improving the railway journey experience for millions of passengers across India, aligning with the government’s vision of making rail travel more convenient and accessible for all.
