Indian Railways operates one of the world’s largest rail networks. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is responsible for providing ticketing, tourism and catering services to the Railways.
It has made train travel more comfortable and convenient for millions of passengers. It was founded in 1999 and is owned by the Government of India via Indian Railways. Here are ten interesting facts that you should know about IRCTC.
Now avail ₹0 Payment Gateway Charges with CRED Pay and UPI while booking your train tickets!
Search trains
1. The IRCTC website is developed and maintained by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS).
2. The IRCTC website is down for maintenance every night from 11:45 PM to 12:20 AM. Users are not allowed to book tickets or check their PNR status during this time.
3. If a user’s IRCTC login ID is connected to their Aadhar Card, they can book up to 24 tickets per month, and if not, they can book only 12.
4. On the day of its launch in 2002, IRCTC booked only 27 tickets. Today, it gets over 5 lakh ticket bookings on a daily basis.
5. IRCTC has its own e-wallet called ‘imudra’, which allows users to book tickets, send and receive money, shop and even withdraw cash from ATMs. It comes with both a virtual and a physical card.
6. IRCTC is the first organisation after Indian Railways to operate its own train. In 2017, Tejas Express became the first private train in India.
7. Rail Neer, a premium packaged drinking water brand, is the signature product of IRCTC. In 2017, it was ranked as the top performer in its category by Consumer Voice magazine.
8. The captcha generated by the IRCTC website/app during a Tatkal booking is significantly more complex than the one generated during a regular booking. This is done to reduce traffic during Tatkal hours.
9. The algorithm of the IRCTC website is such that it never assigns a seat to a female next to five male strangers. There will be at least one more female passenger around their seat.
10. IRCTC offers two types of catering services. On-board catering in trains is known as mobile catering, whereas catering services at stations via food plazas are known as static catering.
For more such stories, stay tuned to ixigo!
