Railways Boosts Cyber Security And Fairness In Ticket Bookings

12 Dec 2025 CW Team

A key step has been the large-scale revalidation and verification of user accounts. Since January 2025, around 30.2 million suspicious user IDs have been deactivated. Anti-bot tools such as Akamai have been deployed to filter non-genuine users, ensuring smoother booking for legitimate passengers.

To curb misuse of tatkal bookings and improve fairness, Aadhaar-based one-time password (OTP) verification for online tatkal tickets is being rolled out in phases. As of 4 December 2025, the system is operational in 322 trains, resulting in increased confirmed tatkal ticket availability in about 65 per cent of these services.

Aadhaar-based OTP verification has also been introduced at reservation counters and is in place for 211 trains. Overall, Indian Railways reports that confirmed tatkal ticket availability time has risen in around 95 per cent of 96 popular trains due to these measures.

Complaints have been filed on the National Cyber Crime Portal regarding suspiciously booked PNRs. Railways has further strengthened system defences with multiple protective layers, including network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, application delivery controllers and web application firewalls. The reservation system is hosted in a dedicated, access-controlled data centre secured with CCTV surveillance and end-to-end encryption, and certified under ISO 27001 information security standards.

RailTel Corporation of India Ltd provides cyber threat intelligence services such as take-down operations, threat monitoring, deep and dark web surveillance and digital risk protection to improve incident response and pre-empt cyber risks.

Regular security audits are conducted by CERT-In-empanelled agencies, while internet traffic associated with the ticketing platform is continuously monitored by CERT-In and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to detect and prevent cyber attacks.

The Ministry noted that requests and suggestions from MPs, organisations and rail users are received continuously across various levels. While no centralised compilation is maintained, feasible proposals are examined and acted upon as part of an ongoing process.

The information was shared by Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Indian Railways has said its reservation ticketing system is a robust and highly secure IT platform equipped with state-of-the-art cyber security measures. The national transporter has introduced several initiatives to enhance system performance and improve access to regular and tatkal tickets. A key step has been the large-scale revalidation and verification of user accounts. Since January 2025, around 30.2 million suspicious user IDs have been deactivated. Anti-bot tools such as Akamai have been deployed to filter non-genuine users, ensuring smoother booking for legitimate passengers. To curb misuse of tatkal bookings and improve fairness, Aadhaar-based one-time password (OTP) verification for online tatkal tickets is being rolled out in phases. As of 4 December 2025, the system is operational in 322 trains, resulting in increased confirmed tatkal ticket availability in about 65 per cent of these services. Aadhaar-based OTP verification has also been introduced at reservation counters and is in place for 211 trains. Overall, Indian Railways reports that confirmed tatkal ticket availability time has risen in around 95 per cent of 96 popular trains due to these measures. Complaints have been filed on the National Cyber Crime Portal regarding suspiciously booked PNRs. Railways has further strengthened system defences with multiple protective layers, including network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, application delivery controllers and web application firewalls. The reservation system is hosted in a dedicated, access-controlled data centre secured with CCTV surveillance and end-to-end encryption, and certified under ISO 27001 information security standards. RailTel Corporation of India Ltd provides cyber threat intelligence services such as take-down operations, threat monitoring, deep and dark web surveillance and digital risk protection to improve incident response and pre-empt cyber risks. Regular security audits are conducted by CERT-In-empanelled agencies, while internet traffic associated with the ticketing platform is continuously monitored by CERT-In and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to detect and prevent cyber attacks. The Ministry noted that requests and suggestions from MPs, organisations and rail users are received continuously across various levels. While no centralised compilation is maintained, feasible proposals are examined and acted upon as part of an ongoing process. The information was shared by Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

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