NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has announced an update to its online ticket booking system aimed at reducing fraudulent practices. From October 1, 2025, the first 15 minutes of general reserved ticket booking on the IRCTC website and app will be open only to Aadhaar-authenticated user IDs.
In a circular to the Principal Chief Commercial Managers of all 17 railway zones and the Managing Director of CRIS in Delhi, the Ministry directed system modifications to implement the new rule. The Railways stated that this step is intended to ensure that the reservation system benefits genuine passengers and is not misused by touts who create fake user IDs.
There will be no change in the timings for booking reserved tickets at computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters. The existing rule that prevents authorised ticketing agents from booking reserved tickets during the first 10 minutes of general reservation will also continue.
A senior Railway official explained that reports had shown touts exploiting the online booking system using fake accounts. Allowing Aadhaar-authenticated users the first 15 minutes will help genuine passengers, as their accounts are already verified and linked to their Aadhaar.
Official data highlights the scale of the problem. Railways arrested 5,796 people for booking illegal tickets using fake IDs. Tickets worth Rs 12.2 crore, booked for future journeys, were seized from them. Over the last several months, 2.5 crore suspicious user IDs were deactivated by Indian Railways.
The Railways also reported that between January and May 2025, nearly 2.9 lakh suspicious PNRs were generated in the first five minutes of Tatkal booking. These were identified and acted upon.
The Ministry stated that these steps are part of ongoing efforts to monitor and prevent the misuse of the system.
5,796 illegal ticket agents, 2.9 L suspicious PNRs
According to official data from the Railways, as many as 5,796 persons were arrested for procuring tickets using fake user IDs and train tickets worth Rs 12.2 crores were seized from them. The Railway identified nearly 2.9 lakh suspicious PNRs that were generated within the first five minutes of Tatkal booking openings between January and May 2025.