Government upgrades ticketing system to enhance transparency, user experience

Indian Railways on Wednesday completed a digital upgrade of its ticketing system. To curb unauthorise automated bookings system, this major includes the implementation of advanced anti-bot technology and collaboration with a leading Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider.

According to the Ministry of Railways, upgrade in ticketing system has successfully reduced unauthorized automated bookings, especially during the high-demand Tatkal booking window.

Previously, bot traffic accounted for nearly 50 per cent of login attempts in the first five minutes of Tatkal bookings, the ministry said.

With the updated system, this bot traffic has been effectively blocked.

Moreover, Indian Railways has deactivated 2.5 crore suspicious user IDs. A record was also set on May 22, 2025, with the highest-ever per-minute booking of 31,814 tickets.

The government has introduced new rules for users who are not verified through Aadhaar, now they can book Opening ARP, Tatkal, or Premium Tatkal tickets only after three days of registration. Aadhaar-verified users, however, can book tickets immediately.

Nearly 20% surge in users login

The Ministry of Railways also said that average daily user logins increased to 82.57 lakh in FY24-25 from 69.08 lakh in FY 2023–24, a jump of 19.53 per cent.

During the period, daily ticket bookings also grew by 11.85 per cent and e-ticketing now accounts for 86.38 per cent of all reserved ticket bookings, according to the ministry.

Here are details of upgradation in the system:

• 87% of static content now delivered via CDN which improve website speed and reducing server load
• Use of AI-based systems to detect and block bot traffic
• Proactive deactivation of suspicious accounts and integration with the Cyber Crime Portal for complaint resolution