The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) launched the beta version of its revamped website, promising a cleaner design, faster ticket booking experience and easier navigation for passengers.
The new website went live at 9 pm on Wednesday, allowing users to explore the updated interface and share feedback before the final version is rolled out.
The beta version can be accessed through the IRCTC website, where a link has also been added on the homepage of the existing portal. Here’s the link: https://www.irctc.co.in/eticket/train-search
The website redesign comes as IRCTC handles one of the world’s largest online railway ticketing operations, with the platform processing around 14.5 lakh tickets every day.
The revamped portal focuses on reducing clutter and simplifying the booking process. IRCTC has introduced four major improvements:
No unnecessary captchas and pop-ups
The new website removes unnecessary captchas, pop-ups, flashing graphics and distracting elements to create a smoother booking experience.
Seat availability visible across classes
Passengers will now be able to view seat availability across different travel classes more easily while searching for trains.
Faster ticket checkout
The number of steps required to complete a booking has been reduced, making the payment and checkout process quicker.
Easier repeat bookings
Users can save passenger details, allowing them to make repeat bookings without entering the same information every time.
According to the Railway Ministry, several suggestions for improving the website’s design and user experience came from students of the Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT), Jaipur, during their interaction with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
The students were involved in the design feedback process, with their suggestions incorporated into the revamped interface.
The website revamp is being carried out alongside the modernisation of the decades-old Passenger Reservation Engine (PRE), which powers railway ticket booking systems.
Since the reservation engine needs to remain operational during the upgrade process, the work is being carried out in phases.
IRCTC said the fully functional new portal will be launched in the coming weeks after integrating it with the upgraded Passenger Reservation Engine.
Passengers have been invited to share feedback on the beta version, which will help improve the final website before its wider rollout.
IRCTC has launched its new website beta version with faster checkout, easier repeat bookings, visible seat availability and fewe
Source: News18