<h1>Railways extends reservation chart preparation from 4 to 8 hours before departure for better passenger planning</h1> The Ministry of Railways announced changes to reservation chart preparation timing, extending it from four to eight hours before train departure to assist passengers from remote areas in planning journeys and making alternative arrangements for unconfirmed waitlisted tickets. The upgraded Passenger Reservation System will handle 1.5 lakh ticket bookings per minute, a five-fold increase from current capacity. New features include multilingual interface, seat selection, fare calendar, and integrated facilities for disabled passengers, students, and patients. Starting July 1, authenticated users will be required for Tatkal ticket bookings through IRCTC platforms, with OTP-based authentication beginning end-July using government IDs from DigiLocker accounts.