Indian Railways has cautioned passengers against relying on screenshots of unreserved ticket while travelling on trains, saying such images cannot be used as valid travel authority during ticket checks, according to The Indian Express.
The clarification follows a case involving an unreserved ticket booked through the RailOne app. According to Saurabh Jain, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Sr DCM) of West Central Railway’s Kota Division, such a ticket is valid only on the specific mobile phone on which the app is registered and the booking was made.
He said a screenshot of a ticket booked by another person and subsequently shared through WhatsApp or any other medium does not qualify as a valid ticket for the passenger using it.
“Passengers should book tickets themselves using their registered mobile phones and carry that same phone with them during the journey,” Jain said, reported The Indian Express.
Unreserved ticket must be booked before boarding
Railways has also reiterated that passengers need to have a valid ticket before starting their journey. They cannot board a train without a ticket and later use their mobile phone to generate an unreserved ticket after spotting ticket-checking staff.
The same applies when someone else books a ticket on their mobile phone. Carrying a screenshot of that booking does not satisfy the requirements for digital travel authority, according to the railway official.
“To display the digital ticket, the mobile phone must be switched on and sufficiently charged,” the official said.
What passengers should know about unreserved ticket screenshots
Passengers using digital facilities for unreserved travel should complete the booking before boarding the train. For tickets booked through RailOne, the booking should remain accessible on the registered mobile phone from which the ticket was generated.
Railways has specifically said that a screenshot or ticket image received through WhatsApp or another messaging platform cannot be treated as a valid travel authority. Passengers should therefore carry the phone used for booking throughout the journey and ensure it has enough battery to display the ticket during checking.
The railway official further said that the minimum penalty for travelling without a proper ticket or with an irregular ticket has been increased from Rs 250 to Rs 500 w.e.f June 19, 2026.