The Ministry of Railways has launched the beta version of the redesigned IRCTC website. This follows an announcement made last month by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during an interaction with MNIT students in Jaipur, where he promised the revamped platform would debut by July 15.
The redesigned website invites passengers to experience its upgraded interface and share feedback before the platform's full-scale rollout. The redesigned website aims to provide a cleaner, faster and more user-friendly booking experience.
According to the Railways, user feedback collected during the beta phase will help refine the platform ahead of its official launch in the coming weeks.
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The revamp was inspired by suggestions from students of the Malaviya National Institute of Technology, who shared ideas on improving the website's design, functionality and overall user experience during an interaction with Vaishnaw.
Launched in 2002, the existing IRCTC platform handles an average of 14.5 lakh ticket bookings every day, making it one of the country's busiest online public service portals. The beta version introduces several key improvements, including the removal of unnecessary captchas, pop-ups and distracting graphics, a simplified interface, and a faster booking process with fewer checkout steps.
Passengers can now view seat availability across all travel classes simultaneously, while saved passenger details have been better integrated to make repeat bookings quicker and more convenient.
Alongside the website redesign, the Railways is also modernising the Passenger Reservation Engine, the core system that powers train ticket bookings across multiple applications. The overhaul is being carried out while ensuring uninterrupted services, given the critical role the reservation engine plays in daily railway operations.
The upgraded Passenger Reservation Engine is expected to be launched soon and will be integrated with the new IRCTC portal. The Ministry of Railways has encouraged users to submit feedback and suggestions during the beta phase to help further enhance the platform before its nationwide rollout.
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