Railways have revised the time of booking of tatkal tickets from July 10 in a bid to prevent touts from cornering tickets. Booking of tatkal tickets, permissible only one day in advance, will start at 10.00 a.m. instead of 08.00 a.m. for the general public, while no authorized agent, even from the IRCTC, will be allowed to book tickets online until 12.00 noon.
By this decision taken by the Railway Board, the Railways hope to keep touts away from booking tickets surreptitiously the moment booking starts at the computerized reservation centres. The Railways have retained the restriction imposed on agents from booking general reserved tickets on the opening day for two hours, from 08.00 a.m. to 10.00 a.m., to allow the general public to book tickets 120 days in advance.
The IRCTC is developing an e-ticket application to more than double the existing capacity to address online demand for tickets.
To prevent agents from cornering tickets, the IRCTC also proposes to capture their computers’ MAC ID, restrict booking per machine and link booking by individuals with UID and PAN
