Indian railway passengers are experiencing faster Tatkal ticket bookings following the launch of IRCTC's revamped website, with fresh data revealing measurable improvements in booking efficiency.
Bookings completed within the first three minutes of the Tatkal booking window increased by more than 5 per cent after the launch of the beta website, while the platform also recorded a 3 per cent rise in bookings completed within five minutes and over a 2 per cent increase in bookings completed within 30 minutes, the government ticketing website said, citing recent data.
The upgraded website, which went live on 15 July, represents one of the most significant overhauls to India's railway reservation system in recent years.
The upgraded platform is expected to support more than 1.5 lakh bookings per minute - a nearly 5x improvement from the previous system's capacity of approximately 32,000 bookings per minute.
The new Passenger Reservation System will also dramatically improve enquiry handling -- from the current 4 lakh enquiries per minute to over 40 lakh per minute.
The redesign attributed the improvement to changes introduced in the beta website, including a streamlined booking process, fewer repetitive CAPTCHAs, reduced pop-up interruptions and a cleaner interface.
The removal of CAPTCHA during the booking process eliminated one of the common hurdles passengers faced whilst trying to secure tickets during the limited Tatkal booking window.
Additional features allow passengers to submit preferred seat choices whilst booking, and a newly added fare calendar allows travellers to compare ticket prices across different travel dates.
Instead of checking Sleeper, AC 3 Tier, AC 2 Tier and other classes separately, users will now see availability across all classes on a single screen, expected to cut the time spent searching for suitable tickets significantly.
The improvements have contributed to a broader shift towards digital ticketing.
89.84 per cent of railway tickets were booked online in July 2026, reflecting the growing preference for digital reservations.
The platform also supports multiple languages, including English, Hindi and several regional languages, making it more accessible to users across the country.