Indian Railways reservation: IRCTC extends ticket booking time for Aadhaar-authenticated users from Jan 5 | India News

IRCTC ticket booking

In a statement, IRCTC said that with effect from (w.e.f) January 5, 2026, the ticket booking window for Aadhaar-authenticated users will be extended from 08:00 hrs to 16:00 hrs on the first day of the opening of reserved ticket booking. As of January 4, Aadhaar-authenticated users are allowed to book tickets between 08:00 hrs and 12:00 hrs on the first day of the reservation window.

IRCTC train ticket booking, IRCTC train booking online

Last year, the national transporter first made Aadhaar-based verification mandatory for booking reserved train tickets through the IRCTC website or app during the first 15 minutes of the opening of general reservations. The requirement was later extended to the morning hours i.e. from 8 am to 10 am – on the first day of reserved ticket booking.

However, on December 29, the scope of Aadhaar-authenticated booking for general reservations on the opening day was further expanded, extending the booking window up to 12:00 hrs.

However, there will be no change in the procedure of booking tickets across the computerised PRS counters.

Indian Railways chart preparation time

According to the latest guidelines issued by Indian Railways on chart preparation timing, passengers should note that for trains departing between 05:01 hrs and 14:00 hrs, the first reservation chart will be prepared preferably by 20:00 hrs on the previous day.

Meanwhile, for trains with departure times between 14:01 hrs and 23:59 hrs, as well as those departing between 00:00 hrs and 05:00 hrs, the first reservation chart will be prepared preferably at least 10 hours in advance.