The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) recorded its highest-ever single-day ticket sales on September 7, breaching the 20-lakh mark for the first time amid a surge in demand ahead of the upcoming festive season.
According to an NDTV report, a total of 20,06,353 tickets were booked on September 7, setting an all-time record for the official railway ticketing platform.
On September 8, booking momentum remained elevated, with 19,50,699 tickets booked, representing a 6% increase over last year’s festive single-day peak of 18,40,203 tickets, the report noted.
Around 89% of all reserved railway tickets are now booked online, IRCTC said.
To manage the heavy festive rush and prevent platform crashes, the official train ticket booking platform deployed new servers, nearly doubling the capacity of its online reservation system.
launched a new website and user interface on 15 July 2026, allowing passengers to check seat availability across various travel classes simultaneously on a single screen, streamlining the user experience during high-demand booking windows.
Despite handling unprecedented booking volumes, IRCTC did not experience any major glitches or service outages, NDTV reported.
The railway ticketing platform, NDTV said, has also intensified enforcement against unauthorised ticketing agents and automated bots that corner inventory during peak hours.
According to IRCTC, the implementation of its advanced anti-bot system has reduced suspicious automated traffic by 55% to 65%.
To ensure fair access for genuine passengers, the ticket booking platform has barred authorised ticketing agents from during the critical first 10 minutes after reservations open, specifically between 8:00 AM and 8:10 AM.
Aadhaar verification has also been made compulsory for individual users booking tickets as soon as the reservation window opens.
As part of a sweeping audit against fraudulent activity, IRCTC has deactivated 3.04 crore user accounts and flagged another 6.33 crore IDs for mandatory re-verification, NDTV reported.
Third-party digital platforms, including Paytm, , ixigo, and ConfirmTkt, account for nearly 28% of all online railway tickets booked in India, according to IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director Rahul Himalian.
In an interview, Himalian stated that of the 18 lakh to 19 lakh tickets issued daily, approximately 89%—roughly 14.88 lakh to 15 lakh tickets—are booked online through IRCTC.
While IRCTC’s proprietary platforms process the vast majority of digital transactions, third-party distribution channels command a substantial minority share:
Detailing the distribution network, Himalian said, “28% are through the business associates through B2C, B2B, ICS platform, whether it is MakeMyTrip, Paytm, ixigo, ConfirmTkt.”
IRCTC has not released a platform-specific breakdown in the private channel, so the 28% represents an aggregate volume across all authorised business associates. Nevertheless, the figures place platforms like Paytm and MakeMyTrip inside a vital, high-frequency distribution layer for Indian travel.
(With agency inputs)
