Indian Railways E-ticket rule: Screenshot or WhatsApp copy not valid for travel

The digital ticket rules for Indian Railways have again been updated for all those passengers who use the digital unreserved tickets.  As per the newly issued guidelines, only the original digital ticket shown via the Rail One app will be considered valid for verification purposes. The clarification comes after a passenger was fined for presenting a WhatsApp screenshot instead of the original digital ticket.

Digital ticket rules for Indian Railways: What passengers must know

According to the new digital ticket rules of Indian Railways, screenshots of the ticket, photos of the ticket, PDF versions of the ticket, and even tickets sent via WhatsApp and similar messaging platforms are invalid forms of tickets. Authorities have also mentioned that the ticket should be available on the same mobile phone and number from which the original ticket was issued.

Why Indian Railways updated the regulations for digital tickets

This clarification comes after an event which occurred on board train number 18517 Korba-Visakhapatnam Link Express. A lady was travelling from Korba to Raipur who provided a WhatsApp screenshot of her ticket to the examining officer. She said that her brother booked her ticket via the Rail One app and sent her its screenshot on WhatsApp.

As per the verification process, the TTE came to know that the ticket was issued at 4:45 pm, whereas the train had left Korba station at 4:10 pm. Moreover, it was observed that the ticket could not be accessed from the passenger’s mobile number. As there was just a screenshot available, it was declared invalid and fined.

Ticket must be booked before train departure

As per the new digital ticket rules of Indian Railways, it is clear that digital tickets need to be reserved prior to the departure of the train from the boarding station. If any ticket gets printed after the train leaves the station, then it will be considered invalid.

It has been suggested to passengers that the same phone that was used while booking tickets should be carried by them, and that the phone should be fully charged to ensure smooth travel. The new digital ticket rules of Indian Railways will apply only to digital unreserved tickets. However, reserved tickets are not affected since verification is done based on government ID documents.

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