Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told parliament that more than 30 million fake accounts have been removed from the IRCTC website specifically to deal with touts who are reselling train tickets. He also said about 78% of seats are in the less expensive, non-air conditioned classes, and over 75,000 special trains have run so far this year.
Removal of Fake Accounts and Impact on Ticketing
Getting rid of these fake IRCTC accounts is meant to lessen the number of bookings made by computers and the resale of tickets at inflated prices by those who shouldn’t have them. Officials say this clean up is helping the people who actually want to travel get tickets, and making the online system fairer during the busiest times.
Railway staff are doing more checks of the online system and verifying accounts to find lots of registrations or those that seem suspicious. This includes more thorough identity checks, computer programs to find anything unusual, and blocking accounts that repeatedly act like a computer program.
Technology and Policy Measures to Tackle Touts
The IRCTC website uses computer analysis and automatically marks unusual booking habits. These technical solutions are used with practical actions: temporarily stopping accounts and looking at each case individually to target organized networks of people reselling tickets.
Changes to the rules now emphasize making sure passengers are who they say they are and are responsible for lots of bookings. These changes are designed to close the holes that touts exploit, and to protect the online ticket system for regular travellers.
Seat Composition and Focus on Affordable Travel
Vaishnaw said approximately 70% of carriages are general or sleeper class, and 78% of seats are in the non-air conditioned carriages. This is a deliberate focus on keeping rail travel affordable for most people.
Having a large number of non-air conditioned carriages affects prices, how many people can travel, and the ability of all members of society to use the railway. For long journeys and daily commuters, the number of sleeper and general carriages keeps the cost of travel down on the network.
Special Trains and Managing Peak Demand
The ministry says they have run more than t5,000 extra trains this year to manage the peaks of travel during particular seasons and for festivals. Increasing the number of special trains is part of the attempt to reduce overcrowding and improve services.
Officials say that compared to the past, there are now more special trains than during the time of the previous UPA government. Running these extra services requires coordinating the train crews, the trains themselves, and time slots on the busy routes.
Railway Safety and Reduction in Accidents
The minister explained that a strong focus on railway safety has resulted in a 90% decrease in serious accidents. The improvements in safety are because of maintenance work, updates to the signalling system and improved ways of working.
Also important are investments in staff training, renewing the tracks, and using monitoring technology. Continuing to pay attention to these areas is vital to continue the decline in serious accidents as more and more trains are running and the number of passengers goes up.
Practical Advice for Travelers Using IRCTC
Passengers should only register on the official IRCTC website or app and provide identity information when asked, to avoid issues with their accounts. You should avoid buying from other sellers and touts, as they are riskier and more expensive for travellers.
Book your tickets early for busy dates, keep an eye out for announcements about extra trains, and use the official help lines if you have a problem. Keeping your phone number and ID details current will stop problems with your booking and make cancelling or getting a refund easier.
Deleting the fake accounts means the online booking system is more disciplined and fits in with the overall goals of cheap, safe rail travel. How well these improvements are turned into a better experience for passengers each day will depend on continued investment in checking who is using the system, safety features and the extra trains needed at busy times.
