Time-gated booking flow, enhanced captcha, IP-based reputation checks and Aadhaar verification form the core of Railways’ new security regime.
New Delhi – In one of its largest digital clean-up drives, the Indian Railways has blocked more than 77 lakh user accounts between February and October this year as part of an intensified crackdown on automated bot-driven ticket fraud. The action comes amid a worrying rise in software-assisted Tatkal bookings that crowd out genuine passengers and strain Railway servers during peak hours.
Senior officials confirmed that a new, multi-layered security framework—rolled out over the past few months—has sharply reduced automated intrusions, accelerated detection of suspicious behaviour and restored system stability during high-demand booking windows.
Bots Declared as Primary Disruptors in Tatkal Rush
According to data from the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), nearly 2.5 lakh Tatkal tickets are booked every day on average. Demand spikes sharply the moment the booking window opens, with nearly 80% of Tatkal seats being booked within the first 15 minutes. The pressure is concentrated on about 100 high-demand trains, making the window extremely vulnerable to manipulation by automated tools.
CRIS Managing Director GVL Satya Kumar said the flood of bot-driven traffic—designed to autofill forms and penetrate the system faster than human users—had reached a point where it risked destabilising the entire e-ticketing ecosystem.
“During October alone, the system blocked 10.57 billion spurious access attempts. These attempts were meant to overwhelm our firewalls and gain an unfair advantage in the booking queue,” Kumar said. “We have implemented a high-grade IT security solution that rejects any data entry attempt made before 35 seconds, which is simply not humanly possible.”
Strict Time Gates and Captcha Layers Now Mandatory
To prevent automated tools from breezing through booking pages, Railways has introduced several new friction points. These include:
- Time-based progression checks on each booking page
- Enhanced and variant-based CAPTCHA validation
- Mandatory sequencing between pages before reaching the payment interface
- Instant rejection of any autofill-driven attempt breaching the 35-second threshold
Officials said these improvements, though subtle in user experience, have delivered a substantial blow to software-generated bookings.
IP Reputation Scoring: Firewall Learns User Behaviour
CRIS has also deployed a global-behaviour IP reputation scoring model. Each IP address attempting to connect with the system is mapped against global threat databases and behavioural history.
IPs linked to hacking tools or abnormal speed patterns are automatically blocked
IPs flagged in previous cyberattacks are permanently denied access
The system actively neutralises Denial of Service (DoS) attempts aimed at crashing servers during peak booking hours
Officials said this adaptive filtering has significantly reduced “background noise” in the network, thereby improving response times for genuine users.
Aadhaar Authentication Doubles, Strengthening User Verification
In July 2025, Railways made Aadhaar verification mandatory for Tatkal and Advance Reservation Period (ARP) ticket bookings. Within four months, more than two crore users have authenticated their profiles—double the number recorded in June.
The policy aims to eliminate identity fraud, prevent the creation of multiple fake accounts and ensure traceability of high-frequency bookings that often signal illegal ticketing activity.
RailOne App Secured With Shielding Technology
Railways’ newly launched RailOne app has been fortified with an App Shielding tool that discourages reverse-engineering and prevents unauthorised scripts from interacting with the backend. Alongside this, the IRCTC anti-fraud team has been conducting continuous audits of user IDs, frequently deactivating accounts showing irregular booking patterns or suspicious login origins.
Largest Digital Purge in Railways’ History
With an average of 8.57 lakh bot accounts eliminated every month, officials describe this drive as the most aggressive digital hygiene campaign Indian Railways has undertaken. The measures, they said, are already yielding results—reduced crashes during Tatkal hours, a more equitable booking environment and improved transparency for both passengers and authorities.
As demand continues to rise across major routes, Railways is expected to expand its cyber-defence protocols further, aiming to deliver faster, cleaner and fairer access to one of the world’s busiest ticketing networks.
