IRCTC Responds After Twitter User’s Complaint About ‘Tatkal Ticket Booking Experience’

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) plays a crucial role in facilitating train travel across India. Tatkal, one of its services, was launched to provide travelers in urgent need with last-minute ticket-buying options. Yet, despite its best efforts, the Tatkal service frequently causes citizens dissatisfaction due to a number of obstacles and restrictions.

Similarly, the recent controversy surrounding IRCTC’s Tatkal service and the difficulties users faced have become hot topics of discussion. Due to this, the Indian Railways have drawn a lot of attention on social media.

User shares his bad experience of booking Tatkal tickets

It all started when Twitter user Ravisutanjani voiced his displeasure with the ineffectiveness of government websites like IRCTC and EPFO. Ravisutanjani is known for his leadership positions at well-known startups like Rapido, Zomato, and Oyo.

In his initial tweet, Ravisutanjani detailed his appalling encounter with the Tatkal ticket-ordering procedure. He criticized the IRCTC for losing tickets as a result of the platform’s regular outages.

He added that he had a very tough time getting Tatkal tickets, even with a fast internet connection, which caused trains to have long waitlists. Ravisutanjani lamented that the inefficiencies of these government portals, including IRCTC, were adversely affecting the common people. He wrote,

IRCTC has Horrible Tatkal Ticket Booking Experience, Portal Stops Working for 5 Minutes When you Login, All Tickets are Gone. Highly Inefficient even at Fastest Internet Flights seem Expensive, Trains are Heavily Waitlisted. Poor & Common People Suffers

IRCTC has Horrible Tatkal Ticket Booking Experience, Portal Stops Working for 5 Minutes

When you Login, All Tickets are Gone. Highly Inefficient even at Fastest Internet

Flights seem Expensive, Trains are Heavily Waitlisted. Poor & Common People Suffers

— Ravisutanjani (@Ravisutanjani) June 12, 2023

The user also recognized India’s accomplishments in creating advanced payment systems like UPI

However, he expressed disappointment at the lack of improvement on various government websites, including IRCTC, EPFO, and the MCA Portal.

He wrote,

India Built UPI, Some World Class Products in Payments

But we still have to deal with such Inefficiencies in services that impact Masses

IRCTC, EPFO, MCA Portal to name a few, Didn’t see any decent Improvement in the last few years

— Ravisutanjani (@Ravisutanjani) June 12, 2023

Ravisutanjani underlined the necessity for advancement and modifications in these services to assist the general population and offer smooth experiences. Finally, he clarified the issue of agents purchasing Tatkal tickets and reselling them at astronomical rates, robbing legitimate travelers of their rightful opportunity. He wrote,

I certainly understand the scale & challenges but there has to be some progress and amendments for public benefits

Genuine People can’t really get Tatkal Tickets Online while agents Book and sell for Heavy Premiums

— Ravisutanjani (@Ravisutanjani) June 12, 2023

His tweets soon went viral and got mixed reactions. However, many people also agreed with him and shared their own ordeals in the comment section.

IRCTC’s reaction to online criticism

Later on, the Twitter thread also attracts the attention of the IRCTC. IRCTC, in response to Ravisutanjani’s tweet, acknowledged the heavy traffic experienced by their website during Tatkal bookings. However, they highlighted that despite the challenges, over 2 lakh Tatkal tickets were successfully booked within the first 20 minutes of the service opening. IRCTC wrote,

“Sir, there is heavy rush and concurrency on the website at the opening time of tatkal. However about 2 Lakh tatkal tickets were booked in the first 20 min of AC and Non AC tatkal.”

Sir, there is heavy rush and concurrency on the website at the opening time of tatkal. However about 2 Lakh tatkal tickets were booked in the first 20 min of AC and Non AC tatkal.

— IRCTC (@IRCTCofficial) June 12, 2023

The Twitter interaction between Ravisutanjani and IRCTC immediately gained popularity, garnering over a million views and igniting a bigger debate over the flaws of the Tatkal service. While the IRCTC acknowledged the problems experienced by consumers, a sizable number of bookings made in a brief period of time demonstrated the intense demand for Tatkal tickets.

This Twitter conversation has highlighted Tatkal service-related problems and sparked debates about how to fix them. It is clear that IRCTC must act quickly to solve the technical issues, website outages, lack of ticket availability, and agents’ participation in the Tatkal ecosystem.

By implementing reforms and enhancing its technological infrastructure, the IRCTC can ensure a smoother and fairer experience for citizens relying on the Tatkal service for their urgent travel needs.