7 out of 10 unable to get Tatkal train ticket even within a minute

CHENNAI: Train travellers, 7 out of 10, surveyed by an online platform say that they had difficulty in booking tatkal tickets online, and that tickets would be booked, and they would be waitlisted within one minute.

A research study by Local Circles said that only 4 out of 10, who booked the ticket, said that the best way to get tatkal ticket was through the regular booking process. And 3 in 10 believed it through the travel agents.

The survey received over 55,000 responses from train travellers from over 396 districts across the country. Passengers in the survey claimed that IRCTC favours agents who sell tickets at a higher rate. Those who await a tatkal ticket for AC coach at 10 am and non-AC coach at 11 am experience an unexpected glitch in most cases.

“Within a minute or two, tickets are sold out. In many cases, the sites are non-functional from 11 am to 11:15 am,” said K Baskar, secretary of Tiruvallur Railway Passengers Association.

According to the Indian Railways, around 2.25 lakh passengers book tatkal tickets through the online platform. “The main issue is with the payment gateway. In most cases, the IRCTC app is not used as it’s not user-friendly,” said Sijin Samuel, a frequent train traveller and a Nanganallur resident. “And, the payment takes time. Gateway doesn’t get connected and the money is lost. Though the money gets refunded later, the ticket won’t be available. IRCTC offers recharge wallets but in phones like iPhone, there is no option. So, I’ve to depend on laptops and in places without the system, it’s difficult.”

Another issue is to book an AC coach on tatkal, login must be exactly at 10 am. Else, the possibility of getting a ticket is zero. “Demand for tatkal tickets depends on the route also. To my native Thrissur where trains are less, more tickets are in demand,” he added.

Dayanand Krishnan, an activist from Tambaram said, “Tickets booked by the agents must be verified. IRCTC can check the IP address and find those registering from more than one address. And, notice should be served to those IP addresses so that other passengers can book their tickets.”

The Indian Railways clarified that an analysis of the online tatkal ticket booking pattern from May 24 to June 2 revealed that, on average, only 5,615 out of 108,000 AC tickets were booked in the first minute after the window opened. However, 22,827 tickets were booked in the second minute.

In the AC class, around 67,159 tickets were booked online within the first 10 minutes of the window opening, representing 62.5% of all tickets booked online. The remaining 37.5% tickets were booked within 10 minutes of chart preparation, in which 3.01% of tatkal tickets were booked after 10 hours of the window opening.

In the non-AC category, around 1,18,567 tickets were booked online daily. Of these, 4,724 tickets (around 4%) were booked within the first minute, while 20,786 tickets (17.5%) were booked in the second minute.

Approximately 66.4% of tickets were sold within the first 10 minutes after the window opened. Around 84.02% of tickets were sold within the first hour of the window opening, with the remaining tickets sold over the next 10 hours.

The Indian Railways also said that over 24 million users have been deactivated and blocked in the past six months. Additionally, around 2 million other accounts have been flagged as suspicious and are under investigation based on their Aadhaar and other documents.

Currently, more than 130 million subscribers are active on the IRCTC website, of which only 12 million are Aadhaar-verified. IRCTC has decided to conduct special verification for all accounts that are not authenticated with Aadhaar. Accounts found to be suspicious will be closed.

“Account holders who link their accounts with Aadhaar will get priority booking during the first 10 minutes of tatkal ticket sales. Even authorised IRCTC agents will not be allowed to book tickets within the first 10 minutes of the tatkal window opening,” said a source at the Indian Railways.

Some IRCTC users have also raised complaints that genuine accounts have been blocked. “I’ve been using the account for the last three years. But now I’m unable to login. I keep getting a message that the account is disabled. Lakhs of accounts have been blocked and I fear my account is one among them,” rued Saravanan, a Tiruvallur resident.

QUESTIONS IN THE SURVEY

When you tried to book a ticket under tatkal quota, how often were you successful in the last 12 months?

1. Always or 100 % of the time – 10%

2. 75-100% of the time – 15 %

3. 50- 75% of the time – 7%

4. 25-50% of the time – 10%

5. 0-25% of the time – 29%

6. Never – 29%

What issues have you faced when attempting to book a railway ticket online under tatkal quota in the last 12 months?

1. Within the first minute after ticket booking opened, all tickets got booked and got waitlisted – 73%

2. The system displayed seats available but by the time tried to pay seats became unavailable – 73%

3. Faced other issues than the one listed above – 18%

4. Did not face any issue – 14 %

5. Can't say – 4%

NOTE: Some respondents chose more than one option. So, the total does not equate to 100%