IRCTC Down: Outage hits tatkal ticket bookings, customers express frustration after second disruption in a week

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website has experienced a major outage this morning, causing disruptions during the crucial 10 AM window for Tatkal ticket bookings. Passengers attempting to access the platform were met with error messages stating, "Booking and cancellation for all site will not be available for next hour. Inconvenience caused is deeply regretted."

This is the second major disruption IRCTC has faced in December, following a similar issue on December 26. The latest outage has caused frustration among users, especially those trying to secure Tatkal tickets, which can only be booked a day before departure.

IRCTC Down: Details of the Outage

Outage tracking service Downdetector reported a significant increase in issue reports during the morning hours, with approximately 700 users reporting problems. The disruption has left many passengers unable to complete their bookings during the critical window.


Angry users took to social media to voice their frustration, with accusations that the system might be manipulated. Some users claimed that when the service was restored, only premium Tatkal tickets, which are priced at double the standard rates, were available.

One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote, “Dear @IRCTCofficial, your tour services have consistently failed to meet expectations. Booking Tatkal tickets has been a frustrating experience, both 10 years ago and even now. It might be time to reconsider offering services that do not meet acceptable standards. @RailMinIndia.”

Another user questioned the reliability of the system, stating, “Why can't the engineers/Govt think of any alternate solutions for IRCTC Tatkal bottleneck? I have always faced problems when booking Tatkal, what's the purpose of a system if it cannot serve a purpose?”