Railways' online ticketing system IRCTC back after hours-long outage

IRCTC said the outage was due to maintenance activities. The outage left several users looking to book Tatkal tickets during the holiday season inconvenienced.

In Short

• IRCTC website and mobile app operational
• IRCTC says outage due to maintenance activities
• Outage inconveniences users amid the holiday season

The online ticketing platform of the Indian Railways, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), was back on track following a massive outage on Thursday, leaving users unable to access its website and mobile application. IRCTC said the outage was due to maintenance activities.

"Due to maintenance activity, e-ticketing service will not be available," the message on the IRCTC website said. Downdetector also showed that over 2,500 complaints were received about the unavailability of the online ticketing service.

The outage left several users looking to book Tatkal tickets during the holiday season inconvenienced. Lakhs of passengers rely on the platform for booking or managing their train tickets.

This is the second time in December that the e-ticketing platform has faced disruption.

IRCTC, in an advisory, said passengers looking to cancel their tickets could call customer care or email their ticket details for a Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR). The contact details provided by IRCTC are 14646, 08044647999, 08035734999. Users could also email their grievances to etickets@irctc.co.in.