The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched the beta version of its new ticket booking website. The Ministry of Railways announced on Wednesday that this marks the first major overhaul of the website in two decades. The new website is currently available in a beta version; passengers can use it and provide their suggestions. The final version will be released in the coming weeks.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the beta version of the new website has been made accessible via the existing IRCTC website. A dedicated link on the homepage allows passengers to access the new site. This initiative aims to modernise the railways’ digital ticketing system and enhance the ticket booking experience for passengers.
The Ministry stated that suggestions from students at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology played a crucial role in designing the new website. During interactions with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the students offered ideas to make the website more user-friendly, many of which have been incorporated into the new site.
The IRCTC website was first launched in 2002. Currently, an average of 1.45 million (14.5 lakh) tickets are booked daily through this platform. The new website features a clean interface, easy navigation, and a simplified ticket booking process.
Several changes have been made to the new website to make ticket booking easier than before. Unnecessary elements such as CAPTCHAs, pop-ups, flashing graphics, and other distracting features have been removed. Additionally, passengers will now be able to view seat availability across all classes simultaneously, allowing for easy comparison of options. According to the Ministry of Railways, the number of checkout steps in the booking process has been reduced. Furthermore, the availability of saved passenger details will provide convenience to frequent travellers.
The Ministry stated that the objective of launching the beta version is to gather feedback from passengers. Further improvements will be made to the website based on user suggestions. The new website will also be linked to the Railways’ new passenger reservation system, which is being upgraded in parallel. According to the Ministry of Railways, the upgraded reservation system and the full version of the new IRCTC website are likely to be launched in the coming weeks.
