IRCTC clocks record ticket bookings ahead of festive rush; daily volume breaches 20-lakh mark for first time: Report
IRCTC recorded an all-time high of 20,06,353 ticket bookings on September 7, crossing the 20-lakh single-day mark for the first time.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) set a new record on September 7 with 20,06,353 tickets booked, breaking the 20-lakh mark for the first time. This surge in demand ahead of the upcoming festive season pushed daily booking volumes to surpass 20 lakh for the first time ever. On September 8, bookings continued to climb, with 19,50,699 tickets sold, marking a 6% increase over last year's festive peak of 18,40,203 tickets.
IRCTC's platform now handles around 89% of all reserved railway tickets, and to accommodate the heavy volume, the company deployed new servers, effectively doubling reservation system capacity. A revamped website and user interface launched in July 2026 allowed passengers to check seat availability across classes on a single screen. IRCTC also tightened security, reducing automated bot traffic by 55% to 65% through its advanced anti-bot system.
The railway ticketing platform cracked down on unauthorized agents and bots, deactivating 3.04 crore user accounts and flagging 6.33 crore IDs for re-verification. Platforms like Paytm, MakeMyTrip, ixigo, and ConfirmTkt now account for nearly 28% of all online railway tickets in India, with IRCTC processing the majority of digital transactions.
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