Business & Finance
IRCTC Sets New Booking Record Amid Festive Rush, Rolls Out Security and Capacity Upgrades
By Anish Mondal
Indian Railways' online ticketing arm, IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation), has ramped up upgrades to its reservation system as festive-season demand pushes bookings to record levels. The corporation reported its highest-ever single-day figure of 20,06,353 tickets booked on September 7, 2026, driven by advance reservation period (ARP) bookings ahead of the festive season. The following day, September 8, saw 19,50,699 tickets booked. IRCTC noted that approximately 89 per cent of all reserved train tickets are now booked online.
To cope with the surge, the organisation has expanded server capacity, revamped its Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system, introduced a new user interface, and deployed anti-bot technology, among other measures aimed at improving access for genuine travellers.
According to IRCTC, hardware and software upgrades have nearly doubled the NGeT system's overall capacity. Older infrastructure has been replaced with new servers, while software optimisation and architectural refinements have further boosted the platform's ability to process booking requests.
A beta version of a redesigned user interface was launched on July 15, 2026, giving the booking website a more modern layout and clearer presentation of information. Among the changes, passengers can now check seat availability across multiple classes—Sleeper, AC 3 Tier and AC 2 Tier—on a single screen, eliminating the need to switch between pages during booking.
IRCTC data shows that demand peaks sharply right after the reservation window opens. Between 8 am and 9 am, 8.43 per cent to 14.14 per cent of a day's total bookings are typically completed, with the first 15 minutes—8:00 am to 8:15 am—recording the highest volume of concurrent bookings. The remaining 85 per cent of bookings occur later in the day.
To manage this early rush and curb misuse, IRCTC has introduced several restrictions. Since October 12, 2025, only Aadhaar-authenticated users have been allowed to book tickets during the ARP opening window. Authorised agents—including Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendras (YTSKs), Railway Ticketing Service Agents (RTSAs) and IRCTC agents—are barred from booking ARP tickets during the first 10 minutes, from 8 am to 8:10 am. On each ARP opening day, the NGeT system handles between 1.33 crore and 1.74 crore logins, along with 17 lakh to 20 lakh bookings.
IRCTC has also strengthened defences against automated and suspicious traffic. Its anti-bot system has cut malicious bot activity by 55 to 65 per cent in recent months, while a Content Delivery Network (CDN) for static content has eased the load on the core NGeT system, improving performance for legitimate users. A dedicated network security team is also working to shut down fake websites and mobile apps that impersonate IRCTC.
In a broader crackdown on system misuse, IRCTC has deactivated 3.04 crore user IDs and placed another 6.33 crore under revalidation. The organisation has blocked 16,041 suspicious email domains and filed 592 complaints with the Cyber Crime Portal, covering roughly 4.21 lakh suspicious PNRs.
IRCTC said these steps reflect its ongoing commitment to preventing misuse of the online reservation system and ensuring fair access for genuine passengers. The corporation added that it will continue enhancing the ticket booking platform to improve capacity, security and the overall passenger experience.