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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The IRCT has been able to secure this success over the last 20 years by leveraging technolgy. especially the IT, to the immense benefit of their operations. How all ITES networks are vulnerable to cyber attacks on an ongoing basis. Hence, they must keep implementing all such countermeasures as shall firewall all potential risks. This will require continuous monitoring and upgradation of the system. Hope they are doing it very well. more
4 h ago
Agreed that the railways have improved considerably over the years. However one unresolved area is uncivilized and unruly passengers causing inconvenience to other travellers: - oversized and heavy baggages blocking walkways and doors - children sitting on food trays - littering the compartment - using the toilet but not leaving it clean - playing loud music or movies or the like on their digital devices - talking loudly with fellow passengers or on their mobiles - jostling to get in out of the train, without forming queue - occupying others seat without proper or valid ticket The only way to stop this is by slapping penalties. And limit the number of unreserved tickets issued for a train. Railways could also have a library of books in trains (there used to be one in trains between Delhi and Chennai), a play area for children. more
4 h ago
truly said and no mean achievement seeing the diversity in india and its size of business it is a great achievement and there may be some glitches but overall it is great than earlier one had to stand in queue in railway stations to book tickets and there touts used to play a big role and with the advent of online booking we are able to book tickets from the comforts of our home with not much worries.Now that it is done we need to make it more robust with options for sr citizens etc and also refund process and also cancellation need to made easy and less troublesome . more
13 h ago
