Indian Railways Mandates Printed Unreserved Tickets after AI Ticket Scam

Indian railways mandates printed unreserved tickets and showing ticket on mobile phones will not be accepted after AI ticket scam.

In the latest update, the Indian Railways has established a regulation that passengers can no longer depend entirely on displaying unreserved tickets on their mobile devices. Now, according to the IRCTC ticket rule, a physical copy of the ticket is required, a measure that is initiated to avoid the technology misuse. During the inspection, it was discovered that the students who were travelling got just one unreserved ticket but used AI tools to duplicate it for seven travelers.

The decision of IRCTC ticket rule comes during growing concerns that artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to abuse systems with designs that are capable of easily copying Indian Railway tickets. As a result, Indian Railways authorities have introduced printed train ticket rule to raise security concerns following the recent incident that demonstrated the usage of AI technologies to produce fake train tickets.

The incident that raised alarms occurred on the Jaipur route, when a ticket-checking staff discovered a group of students riding with mobile tickets that seemed real during a regular inspection. When the tickets were reviewed, the QR codes scanned successfully, and the trip details and pricing seemed to be valid. However, further investigation uncovered a stunning AI scam.

Following the event, all railway divisions in Madhya Pradesh, including Jhansi, were warned. IRCTC ticket rule advices Ticket Inspectors and Checkers to use the TTE mobile app to scan QR codes and validate tickets in questionable circumstances. Indian Railways stated that printed train ticket rule is intended to protect income and enhance the security of the ticketing system in an increasingly technologically driven environment.

According to Indian railways ticket update it is mandatory to carry a printed copy of unreserved tickets issued through UTS, ATVMs, or ticket counters but this rule does not apply to e-tickets and MT-CUT tickets.

In an official explanation, the Railways clarified that passengers who have ordered unreserved tickets and printed them, whether online or offline, are asked to carry the ticket during the journey, as per current rules. However, if unreserved seats are bought digitally and no physical printout is obtained, customers may display the digital ticket on the same mobile device from which it was booked for verification reasons.