The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website faced a massive outage during Tatkal ticket booking hours, leaving thousands of customers unable to secure or manage reservations. The disruption, reportedly caused by maintenance activity, sparked outrage across social media platforms, with users expressing frustration over the platform’s inability to handle peak traffic.
The outage occurred during the critical morning hours when Tatkal bookings are at their peak, causing widespread inconvenience. Many passengers attempting to book tickets encountered an error message stating, “Due to maintenance activity, e-ticketing service will not be available. Please try later.” This announcement added fuel to the fire, as users questioned the timing of the maintenance.
“How can IRCTC website go down during tatkal timings??? Why are we even bothering about building a bullet train when we can’t even build a f**king website??” wrote one irate user on social media. Another user remarked, “India reached the moon, but the Indian Railways ticket booking app can’t handle Tatkal booking without crashing. It’s 2024, and a stable server shouldn’t be rocket science!”
IRCTC has yet to issue an official statement addressing the incident. However, the platform provided contact numbers and an email for ticket cancellations and resolution of related issues. The message advised affected users to call customer care numbers 14646, 08044647999, or 08035734999, or to email at etickets @ irctc.co.in for assistance.
The outage impacted major cities across India, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Surat. Frustrated customers have demanded an immediate resolution, emphasizing the need for IRCTC to invest in robust infrastructure to avoid such disruptions in the future.
This incident raises questions about the preparedness of IRCTC to manage heavy online traffic and underscores the pressing need for a stable, user-friendly platform, particularly during high-demand periods like Tatkal bookings.