Indian Railways books record breaking three million tickets during festive rush
Indian Railways and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation have achieved a historic milestone by recording 3 million train ticket bookings within a brief two-day period. This unprecedented surge in demand is driven by the upcoming Diwali and Chhath Puja festivities, leading to the rapid exhaustion of available seats and waitlists across the entire national network.
As of September 11, 2026, the reservation system is successfully managing intense passenger pressure. This builds directly on a previous milestone established on September 7, 2026, when the Passenger Reservation System processed an astounding 22.26 lakh tickets in a single day. That single-day figure comfortably surpassed the previous all-time peak of 20.45 lakh tickets recorded on August 19, 2025. Following this initial rush, an additional 19,50,699 bookings were securely processed on September 8, 2026.
Technical Upgrades and System Performance
Despite recent major technical upgrades implemented on the Next Generation e-Ticketing system, which notably increased server capacity and introduced enhanced security measures against automated booking bots, everyday users continue to experience intermittent access errors during peak morning reservation hours. Currently, approximately 89% of all reserved railway tickets are booked online through the official IRCTC digital platform.
Current Booking Rules and Travel Advisories
Passengers planning their festive journeys must keep current regulations in mind. Under existing policies, the Advance Reservation Period remains restricted to 60 days. Furthermore, travellers holding fully waitlisted tickets are strictly not permitted to board Sleeper or AC coaches, and such tickets are automatically cancelled if they remain unconfirmed after final chart preparation.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways is actively managing these massive festive travel volumes while simultaneously overseeing necessary train cancellations and route diversions across several vital corridors, including the busy Delhi-NCR and Maharashtra-Gujarat routes, through mid-September.