Indian Railways is upgrading its ticket booking system to make it faster and more reliable for passengers. The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is leading this change to ensure that the server does not crash during the heavy rush of Tatkal bookings. This digital shift aims to provide a fair chance to genuine passengers while blocking illegal bots and brokers.
How will the new booking system work
The booking capacity is being increased from 25,000 tickets per minute to 1.25 lakh tickets per minute. This five-fold increase will reduce the waiting time and server errors during peak hours. Additionally, the inquiry capacity will jump from 4 lakh to 40 lakh per minute. A new Passenger Reservation System (PRS) will replace the 40-year-old existing system by August 2026.
Steps taken to stop brokers and bots
Railway is using AI scheduling and a new fraud detection model to identify automated bots. If a ticket is booked in less than one second, the AI will flag it as a machine booking. To further tighten security, Aadhaar verification has become mandatory for online Tatkal bookings. In 2025, the railway already deactivated over 3 crore fake user accounts to protect genuine travelers.
Key technical upgrades and milestones
| Feature | Old Capacity/Status | New Capacity/Status |
|---|---|---|
| Tickets per Minute | 25,000 | 1,25,000 |
| Inquiry per Minute | 4 Lakh | 40 Lakh |
| PRS System | 40 Years Old | Modernized (By Aug 2026) |
| Verification | Standard Login | Aadhaar Mandatory |
| Bot Blocking | Basic Filters | AI-based Detection |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the new capacity for Tatkal ticket booking?
The capacity has been increased five times, allowing 1.25 lakh tickets to be booked every minute, up from the previous 25,000.
How is the railway stopping brokers from booking tickets?
Railway is using AI-based fraud detection to identify bots and has made Aadhaar verification mandatory for all online Tatkal bookings.