New Delhi, 10 July (H.S.): Indian Railways is set to launch the beta version of the new Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website, designed to make the ticket booking process significantly simpler, faster and more user-friendly. Alongside the new website, the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) is also undergoing a comprehensive modernisation. Once the upgrade is completed, the new IRCTC portal is expected to become fully operational over the next few months.
The Ministry of Railways said on Friday that officials from IRCTC and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) conducted beta testing of the new website with students of Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur, and sought their feedback. A few weeks ago, the same group of students had highlighted several shortcomings in the existing IRCTC website, prompting the decision to redesign and modernise the platform.
According to the Railways, the new beta website incorporates four major improvements. Unnecessary CAPTCHAs, pop-up windows and distracting graphics have been removed to provide a cleaner and more seamless user experience. Seat availability across all travel classes will now be displayed on a single screen. The number of steps required to complete ticket booking has also been reduced, making the payment and reservation process considerably faster. In addition, the platform now includes a passenger profile storage feature, allowing frequent travellers to save their details and avoid entering the same information for every booking.
The Ministry further stated that the nearly four-decade-old Passenger Reservation System, which powers various railway ticket booking applications and portals, is also being comprehensively upgraded. The modernisation has been technically challenging because the system has had to remain operational throughout the upgrade process. The new reservation engine is expected to be launched shortly.
The Ministry also noted that the RailOne mobile application has crossed 40 million downloads, making it India's largest railway ticket booking app. The application offers a wide range of railway-related services, including ticket booking, through a single integrated platform.
Indian Railways further stated that several measures have been implemented to prevent the misuse of bots during Tatkal ticket bookings. While these efforts have yielded positive results, the Ministry said it will continue to introduce stronger and more effective measures to address the challenge.
The Ministry of Railways expressed its appreciation to the students of MNIT Jaipur for their valuable suggestions, stating that their feedback played an important role in enhancing the overall user experience of the new IRCTC website.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
