Indian Railways has introduced major changes in the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) digital ticketing system. Due to these changes, the number of new user accounts being created daily has dropped sharply.
According to railway officials, only around 5,000 new IRCTC accounts are now being created per day, compared to nearly 1 lakh accounts per day earlier.
This significant drop is the result of strict action taken by the Railways and the Ministry of Railways against fake IRCTC IDs. A stronger and more secure user verification system has now been implemented to stop fraudulent registrations.
Railway Minister’s Statement on Fake Accounts
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that the new and stricter verification system has successfully controlled suspicious and fake ID creation. Officials confirmed that so far:
Around 3.03 crore (30.3 million) fake accounts have been deactivated
Nearly 2.7 crore (27 million) accounts have been suspended or flagged due to suspicious activity
These steps have helped improve transparency and fairness in online ticket booking.
What Was the Fake ID Crackdown on IRCTC?
Over the past few months, Indian Railways has conducted a large-scale clean-up drive on the IRCTC platform. This move was aimed at stopping digital fraud, ticket booking bots, and agent-based fake logins.
Earlier, automated scripts and fake IDs made it difficult for genuine passengers to book tickets. The new verification system now properly checks user identities, ensuring that accounts cannot be created using false or incorrect information.
New Account Creation Drops by 95%
In December 2025, officials revealed that new IRCTC user IDs earlier touched around 1 lakh per day.
After implementing enhanced security and identity verification, this number has now reduced to just 5,000 per day, marking a 95% decline.
This clearly shows that a large portion of earlier accounts were fake or created using automated tools and agents. The latest action has cleaned the system and made ticket booking easier for real passengers.
3.03 Crore Fake Accounts Deactivated
Under the new system, approximately 3.03 crore fake or suspicious accounts have been deactivated. These accounts were either unverified or used for bot-based ticket booking, unfair practices, or avoiding system checks.
Most of these accounts were created within the last year and never completed proper verification.
2.7 Crore User IDs Suspended or Flagged
Apart from deactivated accounts, nearly 2.7 crore IRCTC user IDs have been suspended or flagged for suspicious behavior. These accounts have not been fully removed yet but are under close monitoring by the Railway system.
Such accounts may have provided incorrect details or misused ticket booking services. If required, these IDs will also be permanently closed after further investigation.
