89% of Indian Railways tickets booked online as counter sales drop to 11% (Image generated using AI)
Indian Railways train ticket booking: The Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday that nearly 89 per cent of passengers booked their train tickets online, while counter ticket bookings fell to just 11 per cent over the last one year. Between June 2025 and June 2026, a total of 65.08 crore reserved train tickets were booked.
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In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that after strict measures were introduced for online ticket booking, online reservations accounted for the vast majority of train ticket sales between June 2025 and June 2026.
Of the total 65.08 crore reserved train tickets booked during the period, around 57.90 crore were booked online, while only 7.18 crore tickets were booked through railway reservation counters.
The Union Minister further said that IRCTC has not deactivated any user account for not linking Aadhaar. He added that IRCTC identifies suspicious user IDs using broad parameters such as unusual mobile numbers, email domains and IP addresses.
He said that between January 1, 2024 and June 30, 2026, more than 6.68 crore user accounts were deactivated, while over 6.22 crore accounts were temporarily suspended with an option for revalidation.
Vaishnaw further said that Aadhaar authentication has helped in preventing the creation and operation of fake or unauthorized multiple user accounts controlled by agents.
“This measure acts as an effective safeguard against account multiplication and automated misuse, thereby ensuring fair allocation of tickets. Aadhaar authentication has contributed to improved ticket availability for genuine passengers by reducing unfair booking practices and enhancing transparency in the online booking system,” he added.