If you also use the IRCTC website to book Tatkal tickets, then you need to be alert! Your IRCTC account may be closed. Railways have taken a new and strict step to prevent fraud in online ticket booking. Under this, it will be mandatory for all IRCTC account holders to get their verification done. Let us know the complete information about it so that you can continue your journey without any hassle.
The pattern of booking AC tickets
Every day about 2.25 lakh passengers book Tatkal tickets from online platforms in the Railways. When the pattern of online Tatkal ticket booking was examined from 24 May to 2 June, shocking figures came to the fore:
Out of a total average of 108000 tickets in AC class, only 5615 tickets were booked in the first minute.
22827 tickets were booked in the second minute of the window opening.
In the first 10 minutes of the window opening for the AC class, an average of 67159 tickets were booked on the online platform, which is 62.5% of the total tickets booked on the online platform.
In the first hour of the AC class window opening, 92861 tickets were booked, which was 86% of the total tickets booked online in the AC class.
4.7% of the tickets were booked between the first hour and the fourth hour of the window opening, while 6.2% were sold between the fourth hour and the 10th hour.
The remaining 3.01% of the tickets were booked after 10 hours of the window opening.
This pattern shows that most of the Tatkal ticket bookings happen in the initial minutes, which increases the possibility of fraud and the use of automated tools.
Booking pattern of non-AC tickets
In the Non-AC class, an average of 118567 tickets were booked online every day between 24 May and 2 June, of which:
4724 tickets (4% of total tickets) were booked in the first minute itself.
20786 tickets (17.5% of total tickets) were sold in the second minute.
66.4% of tickets were sold in the first 10 minutes of the window opening.
84.02% of tickets were sold in the first hour of the window opening.
The remaining tickets were booked in the next 10 hours.
This makes it clear that people are getting tickets instantly on the online system, and even after 8 to 10 hours of the window opening, about 12% of the total tickets were booked. This also shows that the use of automated bots is a big problem.
What steps is the railway taking
The railways have launched a campaign against people booking tickets online using automated tools, for which artificial intelligence (AI) is being used. More than 2.4 crore users have been deactivated and blocked in the last 6 months through special software developed by the railways. Apart from this, about 20 lakh other accounts have also been found suspicious, whose Aadhaar and other documents are being checked. This is a revolutionary step for the railways which will curb fraud.
Why is account verification necessary
There are more than 13 crore active subscribers on the IRCTC website, out of which the number of Aadhaar-certified accounts is only 1.2 crore. IRCTC has decided to conduct a special investigation of all those accounts which are not authenticated with Aadhaar. If suspicious are found, a decision will be taken to close the unauthenticated accounts.
Railways are trying to ensure that only genuine passengers get tickets under Tatkal and Premium Tatkal Services. Even authorized agents of IRCTC are not allowed to book tickets on the system in the first 10 minutes of opening the Tatkal window. In such a situation, it has become extremely necessary to verify the IRCTC account with Aadhaar.