NEW DELHI, June 29: Indian Railways is set to overhaul its passenger reservation experience with a modernised booking system that will include airline-style seat selection, enhanced accessibility features, and real-time fare insights through a fare calendar. The new reservation system, being developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), is expected to go fully operational by December 2025, senior Railway Ministry officials confirmed.
“This will be a smart, transparent, accessible and efficient upgrade. Passengers will now be able to choose their preferred seats, similar to how it’s done when booking flight tickets,” said a senior official. The feature will be available across classes, where layout configurations permit.
The new Modern Passenger Reservation System (PRS) aims to make the booking process significantly smoother and faster. It will be capable of handling up to 1.5 lakh bookings per minute, nearly five times the current system’s capacity. Inquiries too will see a drastic scale-up—from 4 lakh to over 40 lakh per minute, the official added.
The upgraded system will also feature a fare calendar, giving passengers a clear picture of ticket prices across multiple dates to help them make informed travel decisions. The interface will be multilingual and user-friendly, ensuring inclusivity for a wide range of users, including divyangjan (persons with disabilities), students, and patients.
To improve pre-journey clarity, the process of reservation charting will also change. Currently, reservation charts are prepared four hours before a train’s departure. Under the new system, charts will be ready eight hours in advance, and for trains departing before 2 pm, the final chart will be made available by 9 pm the previous evening.
“This will significantly reduce uncertainty for passengers, especially those from remote areas who need to plan in advance based on their waitlist status,” the official said.
In a parallel move aimed at curbing misuse and enhancing security and transparency in Tatkal bookings, the Railways will implement mandatory user verification from July 1. Only authenticated users will be allowed to book Tatkal tickets through the IRCTC portal and mobile app.
“OTP-based user authentication will follow later in July,” the official added. Verification will be conducted using Aadhaar or other valid government-issued IDs available through DigiLocker integration.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who recently reviewed the progress of the reforms, has directed officials to prioritise user experience, technical reliability, and robust scalability in the rollout.
Officials noted that the new PRS is designed with cloud-based architecture to handle sudden surges during peak travel seasons and special booking windows, including festival rushes and Tatkal hours.
The revamp marks one of the most significant transformations in Indian Railways’ digital infrastructure since the introduction of online bookings, signalling a shift toward more customer-centric, tech-driven travel planning.
