IRCTC Glitch Causes Trouble for Tatkal Ticket Bookers

On Thursday, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website and app faced a major technical glitch, leaving many passengers unable to book Tatkal tickets. Users attempting to access the platform were met with an error message that read, "Unable to perform action due to maintenance activity."

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Frustration Among Passengers on Social Media

The issue occurred during the crucial Tatkal booking hours—10 AM for AC classes and 11 AM for non-AC classes—adding to passengers’ frustration.

Many users took to social media to voice their complaints. One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, It is 10:11am ... still IRCTC is not opening.... IRCTC should be enquired and checked... definitely scams are happening. By the time it opens all the tickets are gone...

Another user compared the situation to India’s technological achievements, saying, "India has reached the moon, but IRCTC still can’t manage smooth Tatkal bookings in 2024."

Many others demanded an investigation into these recurring issues.

Second Major Outage in December

This isn’t the first time IRCTC has faced such a problem this month. On December 9, the platform underwent a one-hour maintenance period that disrupted services. Passengers are now questioning the platform’s ability to handle the heavy traffic during peak hours.

Tatkal Booking Rules and Why Stability Matters

Tatkal tickets, which open for booking one day before a train’s departure, sell out within minutes. Any delay or technical issue can leave passengers stranded without a seat. Reliable service during these critical hours is essential, and repeated outages shake public confidence.

IRCTC Yet to Respond

Despite the widespread complaints, IRCTC has not released any official statement about Thursday’s outage. This silence has further added to passengers’ frustration, with many demanding immediate solutions to ensure smoother bookings in the future.

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