New Delhi: To prevent fraud and enhance fairness, Aadhaar-based OTP verification has now been implemented for online Tatkal ticket booking in 322 trains. As a result, around three crore fake user IDs have been rejected so far this year.
As a result, the availability time of confirmed Tatkal tickets in these trains has increased by about 65 percent, the government informed Parliament on Thursday. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said in the Lok Sabha that the use of Aadhaar-based OTP for Tatkal booking has also been started at the reservation counter in a phased manner, which has now been implemented in 211 trains.
This has resulted in increased availability time for confirmed Tatkal tickets for about 95% of the 96 popular trains. Strict vetting and verification of user accounts is conducted.
30.2 million suspicious user IDs have been deactivated since January 2025. Anti-bombing solutions like AKAMI have been used to remove unauthorized users and ensure smooth booking for legitimate travelers. Complaints have been lodged on the National Cyber Crime Portal for suspiciously booked PNRs.
Vaishnav explained the use of security layers such as network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, application delivery controllers and web application firewalls to protect against cyber threats. The system is installed in a dedicated, access-controlled data center, protected by CCTV surveillance and end-to-end encryption.
The Minister said, “To further strengthen cyber security, RailTel Corporation of India Limited provides comprehensive cyber threat intelligence services. These include takedown services, threat monitoring, deep and dark web monitoring and digital risk protection. These services provide proactive and actionable insights into emerging cyber threats and enable improvements.”
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