Why IRCTC Doesn’t Allow Passengers To Choose Their Seats?

Indian Railways, out of all the country’s transportation networks, are the most essential, carrying roughly 80% of total goods traffic and 70% of total passenger traffic. It is a statutory agency that operates India’s national railway system and is owned by the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

On April 16, 1853, Indian Railways began it’s operations, with its first 22-mile section (34 km). The Indian Railway System, on the other hand, has grown into such a vast organization that it is now Asia’s largest and the world’s second-largest in terms of route length.

It has now a total route length of 67,956 km (42,226 miles) as of 31 March 2022. Now, one question definitely arises in your mind how do railways sell their tickets. So, let’s find out about it.

Buy a ticket through IRCTC

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is a government-owned company in India that offers ticketing, catering, and tourism services to Indian Railways.

It was formerly entirely owned by the Government of India and operated under the organizational administration of the Ministry of Railways, but since 2019, it has been listed on the National Stock Exchange, with the Government maintaining a majority stake.

It has led to offering internet-based rail ticket booking on its website, as well as via WiFi, GPRS, or SMS from mobile phones. It also offers an SMS service for checking PNR status and Live Train Status.

Aside from e-tickets, the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation also offers I-tickets, which are similar to ordinary tickets but are ordered online and sent by mail. The PNR status of the tickets is also visible. Season tickets for the suburban rail can also be purchased through the website.

For frequent passengers, it has also introduced Shubh Yatra, a loyalty program. Passengers can get savings on all tickets booked during the year by paying an annual fee up ahead. But one thing that always irritates some travellers is that unlike movie tickets or even bus bookings, you can’t choose whatever seats on the train you want. So, let’s take a look at why we don’t have that option.

Why IRCTC doesn’t let us choose a seat?

According to a Moneycontrol study, the process of selecting a seat in the halls and trains differs. Science holds the key to understanding why the two approaches are so different. Trains, on the other hand, must constantly move whereas the movie theatre is in a state of rest. As a result, the IRCTC algorithm assigns a seat to each passenger to evenly distribute the load on the moving train.

Indian railway ticket booking algorithm

Assume the train has sleeping coaches named T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, T6, T7, T8, T9, T10, etc. As a result, each train coach will have 72-72 seats. When a person purchases a ticket for the first time, the program assigns him a seat in the train’s middle coach. The IRCTC assigns the bottom berth first to reduce the centre of gravity.

The program ensures that all of the train’s carriages have the same number of passengers throughout the journey. The railway seats are assigned starting in the middle and progressing to the seats closest to the carriage doors. The IRCTC ticket booking algorithm software, assists in maintaining the train’s balance in this way.

Due to the maximal centrifugal force, the train’s possibility of derailment may increase. As a result, the Indian Railways reserves this obligation. It guarantees that passengers are distributed evenly.