IRCTC down: Thousands of users report issues while booking tickets ahead of Diwali

IRCTC webite down: Ahead of Diwali and Chhath Puja, the IRCTC website, which allows travelers to book tickets, is reportedly down for thousands of users.

The website remains unavailable when opened, and over 5,000 users are facing issues while trying to book tickets, according to Downdetector.

IRCTC down: Why is the website down?

According the message on the IRCTC website, the server is temporarily unable due to service requests. "There was some temporary technical issue, which has been promptly resolved and the website is up and working fine now," said an IRCTC spokesperson on the outage.

Users take to social media

"Once again, @IRCTCofficial website and app are down exactly during Tatkal booking hours ! This happens every time before festivals. Please improve your server capacity," one user wrote on X.

"@IRCTCofficial today irctc web not working from 11 am while I am trying booking tatkal ticket.why?" said another user.

IRCTC date change rule

In a move aimed at making train travel more flexible and passenger-friendly, Indian Railways is preparing to roll out a new feature that will allow travellers to reschedule their confirmed tickets without paying any cancellation fees, according to a Times Now report.

The initiative, which is expected to be implemented through the IRCTC portal, will let passengers modify the travel date of their confirmed tickets and pay only the fare difference, if applicable.

Currently, there is no option to reschedule train tickets forcing passengers to cancel their confirmed tickets. The Railways also put a hefty fee on cancellation of tickets that ranges between 25% and 50% of the ticket cost depending on the class of travel and timing of cancellation. In cases where a train is missed, no refund is offered — even if the delay is due to unavoidable reasons such as a late flight, adverse weather, or emergencies.