IRCTC Outage Causes Chaos for Rail Travelers During Peak Booking Hours

IRCTC Outage Causes Chaos for Rail Travelers During Tatkal Booking

Rail travelers across India faced significant disruptions on Thursday as the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website and mobile app crashed during the crucial Tatkal ticket booking window. This outage, marking the second major disruption in December, left thousands of frustrated passengers unable to secure tickets during peak hours.

The IRCTC platform, essential for online ticket bookings, went offline just before the vital 10 AM window for AC class bookings and the 11 AM slot for non-AC class tickets. According to outage-tracking platform Downdetector, around 2,500 users reported issues accessing the site shortly after 10:25 AM IST. Many travelers were met with a message stating that the e-ticketing service was unavailable due to “maintenance activity,” prompting them to try again later.

This incident follows a similar outage on December 9, raising concerns about the reliability of the IRCTC system. Despite the frequency of these disruptions, the corporation has yet to issue an official statement explaining the causes. In the meantime, IRCTC has advised users to contact their customer care team for assistance.

The outage quickly became a trending topic on social media, with users expressing their anger and disappointment. Many tagged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Prime Minister’s Office in their posts, questioning the efficiency of the ticketing system. One user lamented, “How can IRCTC website go down during tatkal timings? We can’t even build a functioning website!”

As the IRCTC team works to resolve these issues, travelers are left hoping for a more stable and efficient ticketing experience in the future. The ongoing challenges have sparked calls for improved infrastructure and better management of the IRCTC website to prevent such disruptions from affecting ticket bookings again.