Railways to mandate e-Aadhaar for tatkal ticket to curb illegal bookings

An unauthorised ticket booking agent now cannot make simultaneous multiple attempts on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) platform using fake accounts to increase the chances of getting a confirmed ticket for a prospective passenger, officials said on Wednesday.

In a major step towards bringing fairness in the railway ticket booking system, the IRCTC has deployed AI-based advanced technical solutions to curb unauthorised ticketing practices by detecting and deactivating such user IDs created with disposable (short-duration) email addresses, and ensuring equal access for all passengers, an IRCTC official told PTI.

The IRCTC has blocked 35 million fraudulent user IDs over the past one year, significantly reducing system congestion on its platform, the official said.

Explaining how unauthorised agents would manipulate the platform, the official said, "Let's presume that a person named A approaches an unauthorised agent to get a ticket booked from Delhi to Agra. The agent will use several disposable email IDs (using domain names available on Google) and mobile numbers to create, let's say, 30 profiles on IRCTC platform."  He said that during user ID or profile creation, an OTP is sent on the email ID and the agent uses that OTP to verify its authenticity. 

 

However, after authentication, the email ID becomes invalid but the profile remains. Now, these unauthorised agents use such multiple profiles to book a ticket for A. So there are 30 requests or attempts to enhance the chance to book a ticket for A only. They also use bots (automated software applications that perform repetitive tasks) for this purpose, he added.

The official said that the system gets crowded when, let's say, 30 attempts are made for one person.

Imagine, similar attempts are being made for 1,000 passengers which come to 30,000 attempts. This limits opportunities for those prospective passengers who made a single attempt, he said.

To counter these fraudulent attempts, IRCTC's latest Artificial Intelligence- and Machine Learning-based Bot detection technology identifies and neutralizes such accounts before they can disrupt the booking system, he said.

The company said that the initiative has already yielded positive results, with the creation of new user IDs on the IRCTC platform dropping from 60,000 to 65,000 per day to just 10,000 to 12,000, thereby easing system load and streamlining ticket reservations.

The IRCTC officials emphasised that this move ensures a level playing field for every passenger, preventing unauthorized agents from exploiting the system.

In recent months alone, 7,000 disposable email IDs have been blocked, further strengthening ticketing integrity, another official said.

He added, With this breakthrough, IRCTC continues to refine its digital infrastructure, fostering a more transparent, accessible, and efficient railway booking experience for millions across India.