Nearly 9 in 10 reserved railway tickets booked online between June 2025 and June 2026: Govt
New Delhi, July 22
Nearly 89 per cent of reserved railway tickets booked in India during the period from June 2025 to June 2026 were purchased through online platforms, the Ministry of Railways informed on Wednesday.
Out of 65.08 crore reserved tickets booked during the period, around 89 per cent were booked online, driven by enhanced digital services and a secure reservation system, Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said in a written reply to questions in the Lok Sabha.
To further improve the passenger experience, Indian Railways launched the RailOne mobile application on July 1, 2025, bringing all major passenger-facing services onto a single platform.
Available on both Android and Apple app stores, the RailOne app enables passengers to book reserved, unreserved and platform tickets, besides offering train enquiry, PNR status, RailMadad grievance services and other facilities.
Since its launch, the application has been downloaded more than 4.55 crore times, the ministry stated.
According to the ministry, the app now facilitates the booking of around 9.65 lakh tickets every day, including approximately 2.75 lakh reserved tickets and 6.89 lakh unreserved tickets, allowing passengers to access railway reservation services directly from their mobile phones.
The ministry also highlighted the performance of RailMadad, Indian Railways' integrated grievance redressal platform, which allows passengers to seek assistance through the RailMadad app and website, helpline number 139 and SMS.
During the financial year 2025-26, RailMadad handled 6,94,368 assistance requests and received 89.49 per cent excellent and satisfactory feedback from passengers.
To ensure secure and transparent ticket booking, particularly during Tatkal reservations, the ministry said several cyber security and anti-fraud measures have been implemented.
Aadhaar authentication has been made mandatory for online Tatkal bookings to prevent misuse through fake or multiple accounts.
Aadhaar-based One-Time Password (OTP) verification has also been introduced on selected trains to improve fairness in ticket allocation.
Indian Railways said its reservation system is protected by multiple layers of cybersecurity, including application-level security controls, network firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, web application firewalls, anti-bot technology and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) mitigation infrastructure with an aggregated capacity of nearly 30 Gbps.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see digital adoption, but what about senior citizens who aren't tech-savvy? My parents still struggle with online bookings. IRCTC should have a dedicated helpline or assisted booking at stations. Not everyone can use apps.
The cybersecurity measures sound robust - 30 Gbps DDoS protection and anti-bot tech. But I still see scalpers using multiple accounts during Tatkal. Hope the Aadhaar mandate helps. RailMadad feedback is impressive too - 89% satisfaction is no joke.
As a daily commuter on suburban trains, the unreserved ticket booking feature in RailOne is a lifesaver. No more fumbling for change or waiting at counter. But why does the app need so many permissions? Privacy concerns are real.
I booked my family's Holi trip through RailOne - super smooth. But after booking, train was delayed 3 hours. RailMadad was helpful, but compensation? No. Digital is good, but Railways needs to fix punctuality too. 😤
89% online booking is impressive for a country of our size. But let's not ignore the 11% who still rely on counters - mostly rural India. Need more UTS apps in local languages and offline booking options. Digital divide is real.
J We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.