Indian Railways Deactivates Over 2.5 Crore Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation User IDs

Indian Railways deactivated over 2.5 crore Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) user IDs. The Railways noticed suspicious booking patterns and user behaviour identified through advanced data analytics. They curbed the misuse in the online booking system by deactivating 2.5 crore user IDs.

Indian Railways noticed suspicious booking activity, tickets vanishing within minutes of booking, and misuse by agents and bots. In a written reply to Parliament, following questions raised by Member of Parliament A.D. Singh, this situation was confirmed.

Dear @RailMinIndia @RailwaySeva @IRCTCofficial @AshwiniVaishnaw
My IRCTC account linked to Aadhaar & family details got hacked. No help yet.
Is citizens' data a joke now?
Many reporting the same , yet zero accountability. Shameful#IRCTChacked#IndianRailways pic.twitter.com/yrLEp8wiET

— Sadashiv Sutar 🇮🇳 (@ersadashivsutar) July 17, 2025

An X (Formerly twitter) user said "My IRCTC account linked to Aadhaar & family details got hacked. No help yet. Is citizens' data a joke now? Many reporting the same , yet zero accountability. Shameful "

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To improve passenger access to confirmed tickets, to ensure transparency and to proliferate digital modes, the following steps have been taken by Indian Railways:-

Reserved tickets can be booked either online or across computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters on first cum first served basis. Presently, around 89% of total tickets are being booked through online mode.

At PRS counters, the facility of making payments through digital modes has been provided.

With effect from 01-07-2025, tickets under tatkal scheme can be booked through the website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)/its app only by Aadhaar authenticated users.

Agents are barred from booking opening day tatkal tickets during the first 30 minutes of opening of Tatkal reservation.

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Waiting list position of the trains is monitored on a regular basis and in order to cater to additional demand, Indian Railways operates Special train services and augments the load of trains to generate additional accommodation, subject to operational feasibility.

Further, schemes like Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme (ATAS) known as VIKALP and up-gradation scheme have been introduced to provide confirmed accommodation to waitlisted passengers and also to ensure optimal utilization of available accommodation.

The government also outlined a series of new reforms, including mandatory Aadhaar authentication for tatkal bookings, a ban on agent access during peak hours, and more transparent digital payment systems at PRS counters.