In a move to ensure fair access to Tatkal tickets and crack down on fraudulent bookings, Indian Railways has announced a new Aadhaar-based verification system for all IRCTC user accounts. The Railway Board stated that users who fail to link their Aadhaar with their IRCTC account may face suspension or even permanent closure of their accounts. The decision aims to prioritize genuine passengers and eliminate misuse of the online booking system, especially during high-demand Tatkal windows.
Currently, IRCTC has over 130 million active users, but only 12 million accounts are verified using Aadhaar. To close this gap, Indian Railways is conducting a large-scale verification drive. Officials emphasized that Aadhaar-authenticated users will now get priority access to Tatkal tickets during the critical first ten minutes of booking. During this period, even authorized IRCTC agents will not be allowed to book tickets.
A senior railway official said, “Your IRCTC account may be closed — get it verified quickly. This initiative will ensure that genuine travelers are given preference during emergencies, and it will help curb ticketing fraud.”
Recent data released by the Railway Board shows alarming patterns in Tatkal ticket booking. From May 24 to June 2, an average of 2,25,000 Tatkal tickets were booked daily online. For AC class, only 5,615 out of 1,08,000 tickets were booked in the first minute, while 22,827 were booked in the second minute. Around 67,159 AC tickets were booked in the first 10 minutes, representing 62.5% of all bookings. The trend is similar for non-AC tickets, with 4,724 booked in the first minute and 20,786 in the second. Overall, about 66.4% of all non-AC Tatkal tickets were booked in the first 10 minutes, and 84% were gone within the first hour.
Officials pointed out that this rush is often driven by the use of bots or automated software. To combat this, Indian Railways has deactivated over 2.4 crore suspicious accounts in the last six months and flagged another 20 lakh accounts for verification. Artificial Intelligence-based monitoring tools are being used to detect and eliminate such accounts.
The Railways is also planning to extend Aadhaar-based authentication to counter-based Tatkal bookings to prevent misuse at the ticket counters. OTP-based Aadhaar verification will soon be mandatory for all bookings made online, adding an extra layer of security and fairness to the process.
Passengers are strongly urged to verify their IRCTC accounts using their Aadhaar details to avoid disruptions in booking Tatkal tickets. This new policy will be implemented in a phased manner, with warnings already being issued to users who have not yet completed Aadhaar verification.
