How to book tickets fast on IRCTC

Last Updated on July 27, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar

If you are from India and are used to browsing sites on Internet, then I’m sure that you would be knowing what IRCTC is. For those who don’t know about it, let me tell you that it stands for Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. IRCTC’s portal is used throughout the nation for booking railway tickets online. But the site is terribly slow! Particularly during the times of Tatkal hours that commence at 10:00 AM each day! Here, I’ll share with you some tips to book tickets fast using IRCTC, without letting slow site interrupt your experience.

Why IRCTC site loads slow, making ticket booking a real test of patience?

The problem with IRCTC is that it is accessed by loads of people from various part of India. Its servers are thus unable to manage the load and thus take long time to respond to the visitors, who are trying to open it and access it to book tickets.

Especially during Tatkal hours, when the traffic is too high, the server resources are strained much! This is when matter gets worst! During such times of peak traffic, the site usually becomes painfully slow. Also, once one gets into the main page, there is no guarantee that the seats will be available by that time or whether the payment can be made or not!

Then there comes festival seasons! During such times also, there is heavy rush to the site, which leave the servers dead slow!

Tips to book tickets easily and fast using IRCTC-

If it is not tatkal ticket that you are looking for, then you can choose a good time to book tickets. Say after 12:00 noon, when the rush will be less! But often, this is not possible since we are in hurry many times, to book the ticket.

Step-1: Keep all the necessary information handy

Before trying to book a ticket, make sure that you have all the required information readily available. For example- name of the passengers, their age, gender, id card details (in case of tatkal tickets) etc. Doing so will make the data entry process fast. Thus the entire process will speed up as a result!

Step-2: Use Magic Auto fill for IRCTC!

This is a very useful tool developed by Amit Agarwal, the famous blogger from India. This tool is easy to use and will make the form filling part much simpler and faster!

Make sure that you visit the tool using that link in the title and make use of it. A very handy tool to fill the form quickly and proceed to payment while using IRCTC.

Step-3: Don’t stay inactive for long time

IRCTC is a site that uses session cookies. These cookies are valid for a certain period of time. Thus, staying idle and not making use of the site for some time will result in the cookie getting expired! This ensures that you have to start the process all over again!

If you are forced to stay idle after logging in, due to one reason or the another, click on one link or the other just to keep the cookie ticking! This will, to an extent, make sure that the session is not expired and that you won’t have to log in and start all over again!

Also read: IRCTC cancelled E-Ticket refund time

Missed call balance enquiry number of all banks

Missed call mini statement numbers

These three are the basic tips that I use to make ticket booking experience online using IRCTC a pleasant one. These little tips, if implemented, will ensure that the booking and payment processes are carried out fast, without any hassles!

Vishnu Nambiar

I am Vishnu Nambiar a career and educational blogger from India. I am also a full time educational consultant having more than 12 years of experience in the educational sector.

I share articles related to courses, colleges, careers, exam tips and more here.