Crackdown on touts: Here are steps taken by Indian Railways

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal this week told Rajya Sabha in a written reply to Rajya Sabha that during rush period like festivals, summer vacations, holidays etc, some instances of attempt to misuse reservation system have been noticed.

Checks applied on minimum time required to enter the passenger details and displayed CAPTCHA at the time of e-ticket booking by users. Image: Pixabay

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal this week told Rajya Sabha in a written reply to Rajya Sabha that during rush period like festivals, summer vacations, holidays etc, when demand exceeds availability, some instances of attempt to misuse reservation system have been noticed. However, in order to prevent activities of unscrupulous elements including touts, several checks have been deployed by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The include:

i. Creation of only one IRCTC User ID on a given mobile number and email ID.

ii. Setting a limit of booking 6 Railway tickets by an individual user in a month. This limit has been revised to 12 Railway tickets in a month for those individual users who have linked their IRCTC user ID with their respective Aadhaar number and ensured that at least one of the passengers in the passenger list is verifiable through Aadhaar.

iii. Checking of User IDs on daily basis and deactivation of those IDs found using malpractices like fast booking of tickets. Around 1.26 lakh user IDs have been deactivated from 1st April 2018 to 31st May 2019.

iv. Checking of Tatkal tickets booked in first minute for frivolous users on daily basis and cancellation/release of such tickets on suspicion.

v. Only one booking in one user login session except for return/ onward journey between 0800 and 1200 hours.

vi. Checks applied on minimum time required to enter the passenger details and displayed CAPTCHA at the time of e-ticket booking by users.

vii. Restriction on authorized agents of IRCTC for booking tickets during first fifteen minutes of opening of Advance Reservation Period (ARP) booking and Tatkal booking.

Goyal said that regular checks are conducted in mass contact areas such as Passenger Reservation System (PRS) centres, booking offices, platforms, trains etc. to prevent unauthorized ticketing activities including the use of scripting software. "Such checks are also intensified during peak period like festivals, holidays etc.

Get Latest Business News, Stock Market Updates and Videos; Check your tax outgo through Income Tax Calculator and save money through our Personal Finance coverage. Check Business Breaking News Live on Zee Business Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe on YouTube.