Indian Railways has made major changes to its Tatkal ticket booking system in 2026. These new rules and advanced technology aim to make it easier for ordinary passengers to get confirmed tickets by eliminating the clutter of middlemen and automation software. If you're often bothered by waiting lists, these updates bring you some relief.

New rules for Tatkal booking: Aadhaar linking is mandatory

Now, to book Tatkal tickets, your IRCTC account must be fully verified. Railways has now made it mandatory to link your Aadhaar card to your IRCTC profile. Accounts with incomplete or unverified profiles will be blocked during the Tatkal booking window. While booking, passengers will have to provide the same identification details that are linked to their Aadhaar or government ID. This move directly hits the brokers who book tickets in fake names and sell them at inflated prices.

The new tech guard: Ban auto-fill and scripts

It was often observed that tickets would run out within seconds of Tatkal opening. Railways have now implemented powerful technical filters to prevent such auto-fill tools and scripts. This technology will prevent any external software from operating in the initial minutes of booking. Furthermore, OTP-based authentication has been further strengthened, so that only genuine passengers can log into the system.

Improvements in payment gateways: Money will no longer be stuck

A major complaint from passengers used to be payment failures, which often cost them confirmed berths. The new system makes the payment gateway faster and more secure than ever before. This has significantly reduced the chances of ticket cancellations due to last-minute transaction failures.

What changed for passengers?

If your profile is already updated and linked to Aadhaar, your chances of getting a confirmed ticket have increased exponentially compared to previous years. This "one-click" approach by the Railways is an attempt to make the system transparent. Now, only those with authentic identities will win the ticket booking race, not those with faster software.