Bhopal, August 1, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Bhopal Division of West Central Railway has introduced a token-based system for Tatkal ticket bookings at all computerised reservation centres from Saturday to make the process more transparent and prevent misuse by touts and middlemen.
Under the new arrangement, passengers seeking Tatkal tickets at reservation counters will first have to collect tokens before proceeding with the booking process.
According to railway officials, tokens for AC Tatkal bookings will be issued between 8:30 am and 9 am, while tokens for non-AC Tatkal bookings will be distributed from 9 am to 9:30 am. Each reservation counter will initially issue a maximum of 10 tokens for AC bookings and 15 tokens for non-AC bookings.
Railway authorities have retained the flexibility to increase or reduce the number of tokens depending on passenger rush and local requirements.
To ensure priority for genuine travellers, the Railways has introduced two categories of applicants. Priority ‘A’ will cover passengers booking tickets for themselves or immediate family members, including parents, grandparents, spouse, children and siblings. Such applicants will need to submit self-attested identity proof, along with additional family relationship documents if required.
Priority ‘B’ will include other applicants, who will have to provide self-attested identity documents of both the person booking the ticket and the passenger for whom the ticket is being reserved.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Kataria said the initiative was aimed at making Tatkal reservations more transparent, fair and passenger-friendly.
“The objective of the new token system is to make Tatkal reservations more transparent, fair and passenger-friendly. It will help genuine passengers get tickets while effectively checking the activities of unauthorised touts and middlemen,” Kataria said.
He added that Priority ‘A’ applicants would be served first, followed by Priority ‘B’ passengers. Each token will mention the reservation counter number, and records will be maintained to prevent misuse and repeated collection of tokens by the same individual.
After all token holders have been attended to, remaining Tatkal tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability.
Railway authorities have advised passengers to follow the new procedure and use only authorised booking channels. The token system has been implemented across all computerised reservation centres under the Bhopal Division from August 1.
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