IRCTC has deactivated more than three crore suspicious user IDs and flagged another six crore accounts for verification as part of a major crackdown on fraudulent ticket bookings, amid growing concerns over passengers struggling to secure confirmed train tickets.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the railways' ticketing and catering arm, said it has intensified efforts to curb misuse of its online booking platform by targeting dubious digital identities and suspicious booking patterns.
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According to officials, 501 complaints related to 4.2 lakh suspicious Passenger Name Records (PNRs) were lodged on the National Cyber Crime Portal. During the year, IRCTC also blocked 13,343 suspicious email domains linked to fraudulent digital identities.
The move comes as Indian Railways faces increasing scrutiny over ticket availability, with passengers often alleging that bots, touts and fake accounts corner a significant portion of tickets during peak booking windows.
Alongside the ticketing crackdown, IRCTC has significantly expanded the use of artificial intelligence to improve food hygiene standards across its catering network.
More than 800 railway kitchens are now under AI-based surveillance through 2,394 smart cameras capable of detecting nine categories of hygiene violations. These include non-compliance with head cap and transparent glove requirements, inadequate cleaning practices such as mopping and wiping, and the presence of pests including rodents, flies and cockroaches.
A senior IRCTC official said the AI-enabled system is sensitive enough to detect objects as small as an ant measuring 7-8 mm. The most frequently reported violation remains the failure of kitchen staff to wear head caps while handling food.
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The technology-driven monitoring system has been introduced in response to recurring complaints from passengers regarding food quality and hygiene onboard trains. The AI cameras provide real-time alerts, enabling quicker corrective action and tighter compliance with food safety protocols.
The twin initiatives underscore IRCTC's broader push to leverage technology to strengthen ticketing integrity and improve passenger services, as Indian Railways continues its digital transformation drive.
