Indian Railways has recently taken two major decisions. To enhance passenger safety, the Railway Ministry has announced the installation of CCTV cameras in all train coaches and engines. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that cameras will be installed in all 74,000 coaches and 15,000 engines.
Along with the cameras, microphones will also be installed. Each engine will have a total of six cameras. These advanced cameras will be capable of recording clear footage even at speeds of over 100 km/h and in low-light conditions. Importantly, the cameras will be placed in a way that passengers’ privacy remains intact. With these cameras, it will become easier to identify miscreants.
In another move, Indian Railways has changed the rules for booking Tatkal tickets. Starting 15 July 2025, passengers will need to use Aadhaar-based OTP verification on the IRCTC website or app to book Tatkal tickets. This step has been taken to bring transparency and curb the activities of touts and fake agents.
To manage overcrowding in trains, Railways is also preparing to implement a major change. A pilot project is currently underway at New Delhi Railway Station. According to this pilot project, only 150 tickets will be issued per unreserved coach. The software used in this trial counts tickets only for trains scheduled to depart within the next three hours. If the trial is successful, the system will be implemented nationwide.
This step follows an incident during the Mahakumbh in February, where overcrowding at New Delhi Station led to chaos. Since then, several measures have been introduced to manage crowds. The number of tickets issued for AC and Sleeper coaches has already been fixed. However, currently there is no limit on unreserved ticket sales, which often leads to more than 350 passengers crowding into a single coach.
Only 150 unreserved tickets per coach
If the pilot succeeds, only 150 tickets will be issued per unreserved coach. For intermediate stations, only 20% of the coach capacity will be allowed for ticket sales. For example, if a train has four unreserved coaches, only 600 tickets will be issued.
Also Read: Railway Rule Change! No Travel in Sleeper or AC Coach with Waiting Ticket from March 1
Tickets only for trains departing in the next 3 hours
The software used for the trial generates unreserved tickets only for trains departing in the next three hours. Suppose four trains are scheduled to depart from New Delhi Station to Patna in the next three hours, and each train has four unreserved coaches — then tickets will be issued for 16 coaches, totaling no more than 2,400 tickets. Once this limit is reached, no more general tickets will be issued.
Relief for third AC passengers
Currently, many passengers with unreserved tickets enter third AC coaches, causing severe inconvenience. Images frequently go viral on social media showing third AC coaches packed like general compartments. With the new rule in place, this issue is expected to be resolved, bringing much-needed relief to third AC passengers.