IRCTC: REVOLUTIONIZING RAIL TRAVEL IN INDIA :
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has transformed rail travel for the common man in India. Its online ticket booking system, launched in August 2002, is a technological boon that has empowered millions. On its first day, the internet ticketing service recorded just 27 bookings. Fast forward to March 21, 2022, and IRCTC achieved a record of 15.88 lakh e-tickets booked in a single day—a remarkable testament to its growth and popularity.
Now, over 20 years into its journey, IRCTC stands tall as one of the largest e-commerce platforms in India and the Asia-Pacific region.
Next-Generation E-Ticketing System (NGeT)
On April 28, 2014, IRCTC upgraded to the Next Generation E-Ticketing (NGeT) System, significantly enhancing its capacity. The system, powered by high-capacity servers, can process over 26,000 tickets per minute. A record 28,434 tickets were booked in a single minute on November 12, 2022, at 11:02 AM, highlighting its robust capabilities.
Online Dominance in Ticket Bookings
IRCTC has pioneered internet-based rail ticket booking through its official website, www.irctc.co.in, and its Rail Connect Mobile App, available on Android and iOS platforms. During FY 2022-23, online bookings accounted for 82.68% of all reserved tickets on Indian Railways. On average, 12.38 lakh tickets were sold daily via these platforms in FY 2023-24.
Traditional ticket booking counters contributed to the remaining 17–18% of bookings, operating between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM daily (with a half-day on Sundays). Despite this, IRCTC's 24/7 availability—excluding a 35-minute maintenance window from 11:45 PM to 12:20 AM—makes it the preferred choice for millions.
Addressing Growing Demand
India, the world's largest democracy with a population of 1.44 billion, relies heavily on railways for travel. While the NGeT system processes up to 26,000 tickets per minute, this capacity often falls short, especially during peak seasons such as festivals, long weekends, and school holidays. The rising demand for rail travel underscores the need for further capacity expansion to avoid bottlenecks.
The situation mirrors challenges seen in other sectors, such as waste management under Swachh Bharat, where demand outpaces capacity. Shouldn’t we take proactive steps to address this?
The Way Forward
As a nation of vibrant, social, and family-oriented travelers, railways remain the most convenient and economical option for journeys over 300 km, second only to air travel. It’s time to ensure that IRCTC’s ticketing capacity aligns with the growing aspirations of Indians.
LET’S NOT LET THE CAPACITY FOR GROWTH STAGNATE—we must invest in enhancing this vital service. After all, travel is an integral part of India’s cultural and social fabric, and our railways must rise to meet the ever-growing demand. more
Now, over 20 years into its journey, IRCTC stands tall as one of the largest e-commerce platforms in India and the Asia-Pacific region.
Next-Generation E-Ticketing System (NGeT)
On April 28, 2014, IRCTC upgraded to the Next Generation E-Ticketing (NGeT) System, significantly enhancing its capacity. The system, powered by high-capacity servers, can process over 26,000 tickets per minute. A record 28,434 tickets were booked in a single minute on November 12, 2022, at 11:02 AM, highlighting its robust capabilities.
Online Dominance in Ticket Bookings
IRCTC has pioneered internet-based rail ticket booking through its official website, www.irctc.co.in, and its Rail Connect Mobile App, available on Android and iOS platforms. During FY 2022-23, online bookings accounted for 82.68% of all reserved tickets on Indian Railways. On average, 12.38 lakh tickets were sold daily via these platforms in FY 2023-24.
Traditional ticket booking counters contributed to the remaining 17–18% of bookings, operating between 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM daily (with a half-day on Sundays). Despite this, IRCTC's 24/7 availability—excluding a 35-minute maintenance window from 11:45 PM to 12:20 AM—makes it the preferred choice for millions.
Addressing Growing Demand
India, the world's largest democracy with a population of 1.44 billion, relies heavily on railways for travel. While the NGeT system processes up to 26,000 tickets per minute, this capacity often falls short, especially during peak seasons such as festivals, long weekends, and school holidays. The rising demand for rail travel underscores the need for further capacity expansion to avoid bottlenecks.
The situation mirrors challenges seen in other sectors, such as waste management under Swachh Bharat, where demand outpaces capacity. Shouldn’t we take proactive steps to address this?
The Way Forward
As a nation of vibrant, social, and family-oriented travelers, railways remain the most convenient and economical option for journeys over 300 km, second only to air travel. It’s time to ensure that IRCTC’s ticketing capacity aligns with the growing aspirations of Indians.
LET’S NOT LET THE CAPACITY FOR GROWTH STAGNATE—we must invest in enhancing this vital service. After all, travel is an integral part of India’s cultural and social fabric, and our railways must rise to meet the ever-growing demand. more
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View all 9 comments Below 9 comments
When ticket is booked at counter, there is no convenience fees, printer and manpower of IR and cash collected has to be transported. Does it not cost anything? Then why convenience fees for e ticket? It is sheer greed and profiteering. Public convenience is in dustbin. so so many pop up ads.. again for profiteering. Public ease comfort and simplicity of website go out of window. If bulk of customers are complaining of irritating ads, listen to them. And- when you started, you had a list acceptable IDs printed on ticket. Why this has been given a toss for last 10 years and the space is filled with garbage. more
Dec 08
Its good that IRCTC has progressed a lot,but now it is charging exorbitantly for booking ticket,also on wheel food supplied by it is poor in quality but costly ,AND biggest issue is that TATKAL ticket can not be booked by a retail customer.That means the IRCTC has been totally commercialised by the govt. for their benefit and customer is taken for a ride by them .Please highlight the bad things also when you summarise any organisations' journey. more
Dec 04
Undoubtedly, IRCTC is a boon to the Indian travelers seeking a reserved train ticket. IRCTC has revolutionized the system making it possible to have a reserved train ticket being at one's comfort. Remember those days not very long time ago, getting a reserved train ticket was a whole days job by waiting in the que on reservation counters for hours. Hopefully, the snags & issues still being countered while booking a ticket online, particularly for Tatkal tickets, will be rectified soon and IRCTC will be made completely user friendly. more
Nov 30
As usual, Sri Daniel sir has given a comprehensive picture of Indian Railways in general and IRCTC website in particular. I would like to point two additional issues: 1- Very often we find for Tatkal booking of many trains, a number of issues have been pointed out in several posts in this forum. Are the problems due to a huge gap in demand and supply or there is an unsavoury collution between some agents and railway employees? This needs to be sorted out immediately. 2- As far as cleanliness and behaviour of passengers is concerned, we all have to be taught the basics of public behaviour and secondly we should be inculcated with a sense of national pride. This is my property too. I am as much responsible for its upkeep as the Railways itself is. I request the esteemed members of LC to give their suggestions regarding these two major problems. Thank you - V D Ramanathan more
Nov 28
Sir agreed. This matter needs to be highlighted in a resource post to draw wider attention and ensure its relevance over time, especially regarding cleanliness, demand supply gap being exploited and the other points raised by Mr. Padmanabhan.
Kindly also note that only the last three comments will appear when the resource post is accessed unless it is clicked again.
It’s not that Indian Railways dismisses our suggestions or complaints outright. However, these issues may seem minor compared to the more pressing challenges IR faces, such as rail accidents.
That said, while Indian Railways works on addressing critical concerns like signaling systems and accident prevention, it’s equally important to address smaller yet significant irritants that impact the everyday experience of rail travelers. more
Kindly also note that only the last three comments will appear when the resource post is accessed unless it is clicked again.
It’s not that Indian Railways dismisses our suggestions or complaints outright. However, these issues may seem minor compared to the more pressing challenges IR faces, such as rail accidents.
That said, while Indian Railways works on addressing critical concerns like signaling systems and accident prevention, it’s equally important to address smaller yet significant irritants that impact the everyday experience of rail travelers. more
Nov 29
