IRCTC Derails Tatkal Bots: 2.5 Crore IDs Deactivated, 20 Lakh More Under Review
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The IRCTC has decided to conduct special verification for all accounts that are not authenticated with Aadhaar. Accounts found to be suspicious will be closed
If you're using automated tools or AI to book Tatkal railway tickets, you could be among the 20 lakh IRCTC accounts flagged by Indian Railways as suspicious. These accounts are currently under investigation, but linking your Aadhaar details may help you avoid deactivation.
These 20 lakh accounts come on top of the 2.5 crore IRCTC user IDs that have already been deactivated in the last six months in the ongoing crackdown on illegal booking practices.
In an official statement, the Indian Railways said that every day, about 2.25 lakh passengers book Tatkal tickets through the online platform of Indian Railways.
'An analysis of the online Tatkal ticket booking pattern from May 24 to June 2 revealed that, on average, only 5,615 out of 108,000 AC class tickets were booked in the first minute after the window opened. Another 22,827 tickets were booked in the second minute. In the AC class, an average of 67,159 tickets were booked online within the first 10 minutes of the window opening, representing 62.5% of all tickets booked online," the Railways said.
The remaining 37.5% of tickets were booked in the 10 minutes before chart preparation. Only three per cent of Tatkal tickets were booked after 10 hours of the window opening.
For the same period, in the non-AC category, an average of 1.18 lakh tickets were booked online daily. Of these, 4,724 tickets—about four per cent—were booked within the first minute. Another 20,786 tickets—about 18 per cent—were booked in the second minute.
'Approximately 66.4% of tickets were sold within the first 10 minutes after the window opened," the Railways said.
The ministry said that more than 84% of tickets were sold within the first hour of the window opening, and the remaining tickets sold over the next 10 hours.
'This clearly shows that Tatkal tickets are made available to passengers through the online system, and around 12% of Tatkal tickets are still booked 8 to 10 hours after the window opens," the ministry said.
Bots get the boot
The Railways has launched a campaign against the use of automated tools to book tickets online, employing artificial intelligence for this effort.
The IRCTC has decided to conduct special verification for all accounts that are not authenticated with Aadhaar. Accounts found to be suspicious will be closed.
The drive has been launched as the Railways aims to ensure that genuine passengers receive all types of Tatkal tickets. Account holders who link their accounts with Aadhaar will get priority booking during the first 10 minutes of Tatkal ticket sales. Even authorised IRCTC agents are not allowed to book tickets within the first 10 minutes of the Tatkal window opening.
The ministry said it used special monitoring efforts and deactivated and blocked over 2.5 crore users in the past six months.
'Additionally, around two million other accounts have been flagged as suspicious and are under investigation based on their Aadhaar and other documents," the Railways said.
Robust Tatkal system
The Railways is planning to make the Tatkal ticketing process robust with some rule changes, including allowing only Aadhaar-verified accounts to book online Tatkal tickets and Aadhaar-based OTP authentication for booking.
The ministry is also considering requiring Aadhaar verification even for counter-based Tatkal bookings to further curb malpractices
It is important to note that there are more than 130 million active subscribers on the IRCTC website, of which only 12 million are Aadhaar-verified.
With increasing digital oversight and Aadhaar integration, Indian Railways is aiming to restore fairness in Tatkal bookings, ensuring that genuine passengers don't lose out to automated systems.
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