UDID accepted on trains
- Indian Railways approved the Unique Disability ID (UDID) card for access to unreserved Divyangjan coaches. - The approval applies to Mail and Express trains and simplifies eligibility checks for disabled passengers. - Rail officials called it a travel‑accessibility update that will change boarding documentation and procedures at stations. (indiatoday.in)
Indian Railways has started accepting the Unique Disability ID card for travel in unreserved Divyangjan coaches on Mail and Express trains. (publicnow.com) The clarification was issued on April 20, 2026, by the Ministry of Railways and applies to passengers with disabilities who carry a valid UDID card or are already eligible for railway concessional fares. (publicnow.com) The coaches covered are the SLRD and LSLRD compartments, the brake-van sections on Mail and Express trains that include space reserved for disabled passengers. Railways said passengers using those compartments must still hold valid travel authority. (newsonair.gov.in) UDID is a government-issued disability identity document under the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The system was built to issue disability certificates and a single national ID card through state and union territory medical authorities. (swavlambancard.gov.in) That matters because Indian Railways has long run a separate Divyangjan ID system for ticket concessions and e-ticket booking. Railway documents already allowed a railway Divyangjan ID card to be issued on the basis of a UDID certificate, but the April 2026 order extends the UDID card itself to on-platform eligibility checks for these unreserved coaches. (scr.indianrailways.gov.in, publicnow.com) Railways also said unauthorized passengers in coaches earmarked for Divyangjan will face action under the Railway Act. The instruction is meant to keep those seats available for passengers the coaches were set aside to serve. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The UDID program has expanded beyond a paper certificate into a digital identity system with portal login, application tracking, and Aadhaar-based e-KYC for address updates. That gives station staff and passengers a single document that can be checked across states instead of relying on local paperwork. (swavlambancard.gov.in, services.india.gov.in) For disabled passengers boarding Mail and Express trains, the practical change is simple: a valid UDID card now counts at the coach door. (indiatoday.in)
