Bhubaneswar, Aug. 3 -- The Indian Railways has introduced new rules for Tatkal ticket bookings from August 1, 2026, making the process smoother at reservation counters and online.

Sources said that the changes have been made to reduce long queues, improve transparency, and speed up ticket bookings for passengers.

Passengers booking Tatkal tickets at Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters will now receive a numbered token on arrival, which will determine their place in the queue. This replaces the earlier system where passengers had to collect a token separately and stand in line again.

For AC class, tokens will be issued between 8:30 am and 9:30 am, while non-AC tokens will be distributed from 9 am to 9:30 am.

Counter bookings ar...