IRCTC: Recently, the IRCTC website has been causing frustration for railway passengers due to frequent outages. The site has experienced prolonged downtimes, particularly affecting those attempting to book tatkal tickets.

IRCTC website and app were unresponsive for extended periods

Notably, on December 9 and December 26 of last month, both the IRCTC website and app were unresponsive for extended periods, coinciding with a high volume of passengers trying to secure tatkal tickets.

During these outages, passengers have the option to purchase tickets at PRS counters, which are located at railway stations. The Passenger Reservation System (PRS) is a computerized ticketing service that enables users to book and cancel tickets either online or at the counters. PRS counters operate daily from 8 am to 8 pm, although hours may vary by location.

For ticket cancellations, IRCTC users must submit a TDR. To initiate a cancellation, they can reach customer care at 14646, 08044647999, or 08035734999, or send an email to etickets@irctc.co.in. In November, IRCTC implemented new ticket booking regulations, allowing passengers to reserve tickets up to 60 days in advance, a reduction from the previous 120-day Advance Reservation Period (ARP).

It is worth noting that in December 2024, the server of the railway ticketing website IRCTC has failed for the second time. Earlier on December 26, both the website and the app were down for a long time. Due to this, people across the country faced a lot of trouble. Especially those sitting to book Tatkal tickets were in a lot of trouble due to non-booking.

Many unhappy users vented their anger on social media platforms and many even alleged that the system is being manipulated. Many users claimed that after the Tatkal ticket booking was resumed, all the Tatkal tickets were sold out and only premium Tatkal tickets were available which are available at more than double the price of Tatkal.

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