IRCTC website and app down ahead of Diwali, ticket booking halted; millions of passengers inconvenienced..

Just before Diwali, when millions of people across the country were trying to book train tickets to travel home, the IRCTC website and mobile app stopped working. On Wednesday morning, October 17th, both the website and app suddenly went down temporarily, causing panic among passengers.

Server is down before Tatkal ticket booking
According to reports, Tatkal ticket booking for AC class passengers usually opens at 10 am and for sleeper class passengers at 11 am. However, today, just before booking began, the website and app stopped working. This prevented thousands of users from booking tickets, and they expressed their displeasure on social media.

Message displayed on screen
Upon opening the IRCTC website, a "downtime notification" appeared, which read, "Due to technical reasons, booking and cancellation services will be unavailable on all sites for the next one hour. Passengers are requested to contact 08044647999 or 08035734999 for assistance with TDR or cancellations, or send an email to etickets@rcte.co.in."

Many users complained that the website displayed "server error" or "page not responding" messages. Given the increased demand for train tickets during the festive season, this technical glitch caused inconvenience to travelers.

Not the first time
This is not the first time the IRCTC ticket booking website has gone down during the festive season. Previously, this happened three times in December 2024. This time, the service went down a day before Dhanteras, when Tatkal booking was supposed to begin.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.