No more misuse of Tatkal Tickets! Thanks to the Indian Railways that has come up with the following initiatives:
- All passengers have been provided with the facility of booking reserved tickets either through authorised agents, such as Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK) licensees and e-ticketing agents, or the internet. They can even make use of the computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) for the same.
- It is now mandatory for one of the passengers (undertaking in reserved class) to produce a prescribed identity proof, failing which, all passengers will be charged for travelling without ticket.
- Reservation charts are now prepared four hours before the scheduled departure of trains, owing to the provision made available in the computerized PRS. Once a passenger has gone through the chart, he/she can book the available accommodation across any computerized PRS center or through the internet until the second chart is prepared.
- Beware scamsters, surprise checks are now a regular affair with the Indian Railways. And these are conducted by the Vigilance Departments to check for irregularities in the reservation system.
- No refund on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal ticket.
- Change of name is not permitted on the booking made under Tatkal Scheme.
- Only one Tatkal ticket per train per day can be booked by web service agents.
- Individuals are allowed to book only two Tatkal tickets per IP address from 10:00 HRS to 12:00 HRS. The maximum number of tickets allowed to an individual is limited to six per month.
- The timings of the opening of booking under Tatkal scheme on the opening day of reservation have been staggered to 10:00 HRS and 11:00 HRS on the previous day of journey from train originating station for AC and non-AC classes, respectively.
- To monitor the activity of the touts, CCTV cameras have been installed at important PRS locations.
Next time, you book a Tatkal ticket, make sure you go through the above steps.
