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Indian Railways on Wednesday informed that it has cracked down on unauthorised automated bookings and has boosted website access for genuine users.

Indian Railways on Wednesday informed that it has cracked down on unauthorised automated bookings and has boosted website access for genuine users.

According to the Railway Ministry, a total of 31,814 tickets were booked in a single minute on May 22 — a record ticketing milestone.

“In a major leap towards enhancing transparency, security and user experience, Indian Railways has undertaken a comprehensive digital overhaul of its ticketing infrastructure. By deploying

cutting-edge anti-BOT systems and integrating with a leading Content Delivery Network (CDN) service provider, the Railways has significantly curbed unauthorised automated bookings by

unscrupulous agents and improved website access for genuine users,” the Ministry said.

The new system has effectively mitigated all bot traffic, which peaks during the first five minutes of Tatkal bookings.

Bot traffic accounts for up to 50 per cent of overall login attempts during this period. This enhancement has ensured better accessibility for genuine users, resulting in the deactivation of

2.5 crore suspected user IDs used for booking tickets.

“A landmark achievement was recorded on May 22 with the highest-ever per-minute booking of 31,814 tickets, showcasing the robustness and scalability of the upgraded platform,” the Ministry

said.

To further enhance fairness and efficiency, new user protocols have been introduced. 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.

These efforts have delivered measurable improvements. The average daily user logins increased from 69.08 lakh in FY 2023–24 to 82.57 lakh in FY 2024–25, registering a 19.53 per cent rise,

while average daily ticket bookings grew by 11.85 per cent in the same period. Additionally, e-ticketing now accounts for 86.38 per cent of total reserved ticket bookings.

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.