Indian Railways has made some new changes that will come into effect from July 1. The move is a significant change in terms of railway fares, booking process, chartmaking and reservation protocols. The Railway Ministry had issued a notification on June 30 regarding the change in fares on certain routes.

Here are five railway changes from July 1 that passengers must know about.

For ordinary non-AC classes in non-suburban trains, second-class railway fares will increase by half a paisa per kilometre, subject to certain conditions. These conditions are - no increase up to 500 km; increase of ₹ 5 for distance of 501 to 1500 km; increase of ₹ 10 for distance of 1501 to 2500 km; and increase of ₹ 15 for distance of 2501 to 3000 km.

Meanwhile, first-class fares will increase by ₹ 0.5 per kilometre. Fares for AC chair car, AC 3-tier/3-economy, AC 2-tier and AC first/executive class/executive anubhuti have been hiked by 2 paise per kilometre.

The railway ministry had said in June that from July 1, only users with Aadhaar authentication will be able to book tickets under the Tatkal ticket booking scheme. "From 01-07-2025, tickets under the tatkal scheme will be booked only by Aadhaar authenticated users through the website/its app of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)," the ministry said.

The ministry's June circular also spoke about changes in the railway rules for booking agents. As per the new railway rules, authorised ticketing agents of the Indian Railways will not be allowed to book opening-day Tatkal tickets for the first 30 minutes after the window opens. This means they will be restricted from booking Tatkal tickets between 10 am to 10.30 am for AC categories and between 11 am to 11.30 am for non-AC categories.

Another change in the rules of Indian Railways from July 1 is that the authorities have decided to prepare reservation charts for long-distance trains eight hours in advance, which was earlier done four hours in advance. For trains before 2 pm, the chart will be prepared by 9 pm the previous night. This move will reduce uncertainty for passengers on the waiting list. The first update on the waiting list will also be sent in advance.

The Railway Ministry has increased the waiting list limit of passengers from 25 per cent to 60 per cent for all AC classes and 30 per cent for non-AC categories under the new rules.

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