Railways makes ticket cancellation rules stricter, brings stricter norms for quality construction

In a significant development, the government has announced a revised ticket cancellation system. Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking at Kartavya Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday (March 24, 2026), said the changes introduced under the “Reform Express” initiative are aimed at curbing misuse of the ticketing system and improving access for genuine passengers.

Mr. Vaishnaw said ticket black marketing and misuse of the Tatkal scheme had been a long-standing concern. To address this, the Railways has deployed technology to detect bots and fraudulent software. Further technological interventions have also been introduced to restrict the ability of agents and touts to book tickets immediately after the Tatkal booking window opens, along with Aadhaar-based OTP verification.

A detailed data analysis led to the identification and removal of nearly three crore fake accounts from the IRCTC system. This has resulted in a significant improvement in ticket availability, he said.