New Delhi, June 4: In a sweeping crackdown on fraudulent ticket booking practices, Indian Railways has announced that unverified IRCTC user accounts may soon face deactivation. The move comes as part of a broader campaign to ensure fair access to Tatkal tickets by curbing the use of automated booking tools and fake accounts.
Table of Contents
According to railway data, from May 24 to June 2, a staggering 225,000 passengers attempted to book Tatkal tickets online daily. In the AC category alone, only 5,615 tickets—barely 5% of available seats—were booked in the first minute, while 22,827 were snapped up in the second minute, signalling the use of high-speed automation. By the 10-minute mark, 62.5% of AC tickets were already sold, raising concerns about unfair booking advantages.
A similar trend was observed in the non-AC segment, where 4% of tickets were booked in the first minute and 66.4% within 10 minutes. Notably, 12% of Tatkal tickets were still booked between 8 to 10 hours after the window opened, indicating genuine users are being pushed to the margins.
To tackle this, Indian Railways has deployed AI-powered monitoring tools and has already blocked over 2.4 crore suspicious user accounts in the past six months. Another 20 lakh accounts are under investigation for potential misuse. Currently, the IRCTC portal has over 13 crore active users, but only 1.2 crore accounts are Aadhaar-verified.
Aadhaar Verification Now Crucial
Going forward, IRCTC accounts not linked with Aadhaar will face restrictions and possible closure. The Railways has made Aadhaar-based verification mandatory for priority access to Tatkal bookings, especially during the crucial first 10 minutes of ticket sales. Even authorized IRCTC agents are barred from booking tickets during this initial window.
“The Indian Railways will soon start using e-Aadhaar authentication for booking Tatkal tickets, said Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Sources indicate that new rules will soon require Aadhaar-based OTP authentication for all Tatkal bookings, including those made at railway counters. This is aimed at tightening the system further and preventing misuse.
What Passengers Should Do:
- Verify your IRCTC account with Aadhaar immediately to avoid deactivation.
- Unverified users will lose priority access to Tatkal bookings.
- Be alert: The crackdown will continue, and suspicious accounts may be closed without warning.
This initiative is a major step towards enhancing transparency and restoring fairness in the Tatkal ticketing system, ensuring that genuine passengers no longer lose out to bots and brokers.
