Indian Railways is set to significantly enhance the passenger experience with a series of upgrades to its ticketing and reservation systems, with key improvements slated for implementation by December 2025. These changes aim to provide greater convenience, transparency, and efficiency for passengers.

One of the most significant upgrades is the modernization of the Passenger Reservation System (PRS). The enhanced PRS infrastructure is designed to be adaptable, flexible, and capable of handling significantly higher volumes of traffic. The new PRS will increase the ticket booking capacity fivefold, allowing for over 150,000 tickets to be booked per minute, a substantial jump from the current capacity of 32,000 tickets per minute. The system's enquiry processing ability will also see a tenfold enhancement, expanding from 400,000 to over 4 million enquiries per minute. This upgrade ensures that more passengers can access real-time booking information and complete their transactions quickly.

The upgraded PRS will feature a user-friendly interface that supports multiple languages for bookings and enquiries. It will also allow users to specify seating preferences and view fare calendars. Dedicated facilities for Divyangjan (persons with disabilities), students, patients, and other specific categories will also be incorporated.

In addition to the PRS upgrade, Indian Railways is also revising its chart preparation process. Currently, reservation charts are prepared four hours before the scheduled departure of a train. To reduce uncertainty for passengers with waitlisted tickets, the Railway Board has proposed preparing the reservation chart eight hours before departure. For trains departing before 2:00 PM, the chart will be prepared at 9:00 PM the previous day. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed the board to implement this change in phases to avoid disruptions. This revised system will provide waitlisted passengers with earlier updates on their ticket status, allowing them more time to make alternative arrangements if necessary.

Furthermore, Indian Railways is taking steps to streamline Tatkal ticket bookings. Starting July 1, 2025, only authenticated users will be able to book Tatkal tickets through the IRCTC website and mobile application. OTP-based authentication for Tatkal bookings will also be implemented by the end of July 2025. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to broaden the authentication mechanism for Tatkal bookings, suggesting the use of Aadhaar or other verifiable government IDs available in the user's DigiLocker account.

These initiatives reflect Indian Railways' commitment to modernizing its systems and making them more passenger-friendly. By increasing booking and enquiry capacity, providing a user-friendly interface, and streamlining the reservation process, Indian Railways aims to ensure a smooth and comfortable travel experience for all passengers.