IRCTC has ramped up its technical defences to identify and stop automated bookings. (image/erail.in)

New Delhi: If you’ve ever tried booking a Tatkal ticket on the Indian Railways website, only to watch it vanish in seconds, you’re not alone. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) now has answers.

Over the past five months, IRCTC has flagged an alarming 2.9 lakh suspicious PNRs – all booked within five minutes of the booking window opening. This isn’t just bad luck. According to railway officials, this is the result of fraudsters using disposable email IDs and automated bots to snatch up tickets faster than human users can type.

Also Read | What Led To The RCB Parade Stampede?

In a massive crackdown, the railways have deactivated 2.5 crore suspected user IDs and placed 20 lakh IDs under revalidation. Additionally, 6,800 disposable email domains have been blocked, and 134 complaints have been filed with the national cybercrime portal, said an official.

To counter this, IRCTC has ramped up its technical defences, deploying anti-BOT systems and content delivery networks to identify and stop automated bookings.

The results have been promising. On May 22, 2025, IRCTC hit its highest-ever booking rate of 31,814 tickets per minute. The attempt-to-booking ratio also improved, rising from 43.1% in October 2024 to 62.2% in May 2025, indicating a better chance for genuine users.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the government will soon introduce e-Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal bookings, ensuring that only verified individuals can book these high-demand tickets.

“Bharatiya Railways will soon start using e-Aadhaar authentication to book Tatkal tickets. This will help genuine users get confirmed tickets during need,” he said in an X post.

Bharatiya Railways will soon start using e-Aadhaar authentication to book Tatkal tickets.

This will help genuine users get confirmed tickets during need.

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) June 4, 2025

Also Read | 11-Year-Old Girl Gang-Raped And Killed In Bihar; 5 Arrested

These issues are mostly limited to certain routes and high-demand trains, an official said. While there is a genuine shortage of confirmed tickets, this artificial scarcity is worsened by bad actors beating the system.

Officials also warned passengers to be cautious of third-party platforms that promise guaranteed confirmed tickets or offer hefty refunds. In the meantime, the railways say they’re working to increase capacity and run more trains during peak seasons to meet demand.