The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) announced that its e-ticketing service on both the website and mobile app would be unavailable for one hour on Monday due to maintenance activity. Passengers attempting to book tickets or access their accounts were greeted with service disruptions.
IRCTC’s Official Update
The IRCTC issued a statement addressing the issue:
“Due to maintenance activity, e-ticketing service will not be available for the next one hour. Please try later. For cancellation or file TDR, please call customer care at 14646, 0755-6610661 & 0755-4090600 or mail at etickets@irctc.co.in.”
User Outage Report
According to Downdetector, a platform that monitors service outages:
- 50% of users reported they were unable to access the website.
- 40% faced issues with the app.
- 10% experienced difficulties in completing ticket bookings.
The outage reportedly began around 10 AM, with users encountering issues such as:
- Inability to log in or access accounts.
- Errors while searching for train schedules and fares.
- Disruptions while completing ticket booking transactions.
IRCTC “Super App” in Development
Meanwhile, Indian Railways is actively working on a “Super App”, aiming for a December launch, as reported by ET. This all-in-one platform, developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), will integrate services such as:
- Ticket booking.
- Platform pass purchases.
- Train tracking.
The super app is expected to streamline passenger experience by working seamlessly with IRCTC’s existing systems.
Passenger Reactions on X (formerly Twitter)
Frustrated users quickly turned to X to report the issue. Some shared:
- “@IRCTCofficial great! Now the website is completely down for a long time!”
Others expressed concerns over the repeated disruptions, urging IRCTC to improve its systems.
While IRCTC’s temporary outage was part of planned maintenance, it caused significant inconvenience for passengers trying to book tickets. The planned “Super App” aims to address such challenges in the future, offering a unified and reliable experience for all railway services. Passengers encountering issues are encouraged to reach out to IRCTC’s helpline or email for support.
