89% Reserved Train Tickets Booked Online, Says Railway Ministry

Nearly nine out of every ten reserved train tickets in India are now purchased online, reflecting a dramatic rise from 49 percent in 2013-14. According to official figures submitted to Lok Sabha by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the National Train Enquiry System now processes over 6 crore daily enquiries across its digital channels, handling around 80,000 concurrent users seeking real-time arrival and departure updates.

Addressing common passenger misconceptions, the Railway Ministry clarified that 'Where is My Train' is not an official app. Instead, Indian Railways is steering passengers toward RailOne, an integrated super-app launched in July 2025. RailOne has already surpassed 4.76 crore downloads, processing an average of 10 lakh daily ticket sales alongside PNR tracking, platform tickets, unreserved passes, and RailMadad grievance lodging through a single login.

The Ministry detailed its automated refund mechanism under the Next Generation E-Ticketing system, which automatically initiates refunds immediately after a train's scheduled departure time when services are cancelled. While e-ticket holders receive direct bank credits without manual intervention, passengers holding physical paper tickets from railway counters must still visit a physical reservation counter to claim refunds.

Non-counter ticketing modes now account for nearly 39 percent of all unreserved bookings across the network. To reduce physical queue wait times further, Indian Railways is expanding alternative channels, including Automatic Ticket Vending Machines, mobile Unreserved Ticketing System, and localized ticketing agents alongside its flagship unified mobile application.