Indian Railways Ticketing Record: In a significant move to curb unauthorised automated bookings, Indian Railways announced on Wednesday that its AI-powered system has deactivated over 2.5 crore suspicious user IDs used for ticket reservations. The Railways recorded its highest-ever per-minute booking rate on May 22, with 31,814 tickets booked in just 60 seconds — a new milestone in operational efficiency and scalability.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Railways, new user protocols have also been implemented to further improve fairness and transparency in the ticketing process. These initiatives have yielded tangible results. Average daily user logins rose from 69.08 lakh in FY 2023–24 to 82.57 lakh in FY 2024–25, marking a 19.53% increase. Similarly, average daily ticket bookings registered a growth of 11.85% during the same period.
“Users not authenticated via Aadhaar can book Opening ARP, Tatkal or Premium Tatkal tickets only after 3 days of registration, while Aadhaar-verified users can book tickets without delay,” it noted.
Railways’ New AI-Driven System
Adding further, E-ticketing now accounts for 86.38% of all reserved ticket bookings, reflecting the Indian Railways’ successful digital transformation. As part of a comprehensive overhaul of its ticketing infrastructure, the Railways has deployed advanced anti-BOT systems and integrated services from a leading Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider.
These measures have significantly curbed unauthorised automated bookings by unscrupulous agents and improved website access for genuine users. The upgraded system has proven especially effective during the peak demand of Tatkal bookings, where bot traffic typically accounts for up to 50% of login attempts in the first five minutes. Thanks to the new AI-driven enhancements, such traffic has been largely eliminated, ensuring smoother and fairer access for legitimate passengers.
“Systemic upgrades include 87 per cent of static content being served via CDN for faster load times and reduced server load; active detection and mitigation of bot traffic using sophisticated AI algorithms and proactive deactivation of suspicious user IDs and complaint lodging via the Cyber Crime Portal,” the ministry said. (With Inputs From IANS)