IRCTC: Railways Takes Action Against Fake IRCTC Accounts; Millions of IDs Suspended..

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that approximately 88% of reserved railway tickets in the country are now being booked online. This highlights the growing popularity of digital platforms. To maintain and upgrade the online ticketing system, IRCTC levies a nominal convenience fee.

Major Shift in Online Ticketing
The government has implemented new regulations to ensure transparency in ticket booking and to curb fraudulent activities. Effective July 1, 2025, Tatkal tickets can be booked via the website or app exclusively by Aadhaar-verified users. Furthermore, on the first day that general reservations open, online ticketing services will be accessible solely to Aadhaar-verified users. However, the accounts of users who have not yet linked their Aadhaar have not been deactivated.

Online vs. Counter Tickets
According to statistics recorded up to February of the 2025-26 fiscal year, the dominance of online ticket booking is clearly evident. During this period, approximately 48.25 crore tickets were booked online, whereas only 6.15 crore tickets were purchased at reservation counters. This clearly indicates that passengers are rapidly shifting towards digital platforms.

Strict Action Against Fraudulent Accounts
The Railways has launched a major drive to curb ticket touting and fraudulent bookings. In 2025, approximately 3.04 crore fraudulent user IDs were deactivated, while 2.94 crore accounts were temporarily suspended. Of these, 1.80 lakh accounts were subsequently reactivated.

Leveraging Technology to Prevent Malpractices
To prevent irregularities in Tatkal ticket bookings, Aadhaar verification has been made mandatory, making it difficult for a single individual to create multiple fraudulent accounts. Additionally, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) has been deployed on the website, and anti-bot technology has successfully blocked 64% of suspicious web traffic.

Monitoring Suspicious Activities
The Railways has identified 4.07 lakh suspicious PNRs, regarding which 408 complaints have been registered on the Cyber ​​Crime Portal. Furthermore, 13,023 suspicious email domains have also been blocked. Steps Towards Transparency
The government states that the process of making the ticketing system even more transparent is continuously underway. Meanwhile, the clerkage charge for canceling waitlisted tickets will continue to apply as before.

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