Illustration: NewsPlainly. Not a photograph of the event.
Why it matters
An operating server and quick access for every passenger are different measures. IRCTC acknowledged delays while disputing reports that its reservation portal had stopped operating.
IRCTC login delays on the morning of 10 November 2026 were caused by unusually heavy simultaneous access, the company said, while maintaining that its reservation portal remained operational. It described the problems as temporary and said e-ticketing services across its channels were normal when it issued its clarification.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which runs the railway e-ticketing platform, responded after passengers complained about difficulty connecting and booking tickets. The Indian Express and Aaj Tak reported the statement. The company’s account of system availability is its explanation of the incident, rather than an independent measurement of every passenger’s experience.
What IRCTC login delays mean in its reply
According to the clarification reproduced by Aaj Tak, many people were trying to log in to the website and mobile applications at once. That unusually high concurrent traffic meant some users could face delays even though the underlying online reservation portal was operating.
The statement linked the pressure to festive travel, holidays and busy booking periods, particularly Diwali and Chhath Puja. It said demand increases sharply when large numbers of passengers try to secure train tickets at the same time.
There is a distinction between the company saying its system is running and a traveller being able to reach it promptly. IRCTC acknowledged delayed access in its explanation. Its statement that service was normal describes its position at the time of the clarification; it should not be read as a promise that an individual future login or ticket booking will succeed.
Nearly 89% of reserved tickets were booked online
The Indian Express reported that passengers booked 65.08 crore reserved tickets through the Passenger Reservation System between June 2025 and June 2026. Of those, 57.90 crore were booked online.
NewsPlainly’s calculation puts the online share at 88.97%: 57.90 divided by 65.08, multiplied by 100. Rounded to a whole percentage point, that is 89%. The remaining 7.18 crore tickets account for approximately 11.03% of that same reserved-ticket total.
| Reserved tickets | Number | Share of the reported total |
|---|---|---|
| Online | 57.90 crore | 88.97% |
| Remainder through other channels | 7.18 crore | 11.03% |
| Total | 65.08 crore | 100% |
These figures concern reserved tickets, rather than every railway ticket or every passenger journey in India. They also describe the reported period, rather than the number of people trying to log in on 10 November. They explain the scale of online ticket booking without measuring the size of this particular disruption.
Three booking windows draw concentrated traffic
In an earlier statement described by The Indian Express, IRCTC identified three opening times at which demand can be concentrated. These are different booking windows, with different purposes.
| Opening time, IST | Window described in the report |
|---|---|
| 8 am | Advance Reservation Period opening |
| 10 am | Tatkal booking for air-conditioned classes |
| 11 am | Tatkal booking for non-air-conditioned classes |
Tatkal is the railway’s short-notice reservation facility. The Advance Reservation Period is the window for booking ahead. Their opening clocks should not be confused with a published timetable for website downtime or maintenance.
The upgrades the company says it is working on
IRCTC said it continues to upgrade technology and infrastructure and simplify processes. The Indian Express also described planned work on its Next Generation e-Ticketing system, launched in 2014.
One part involves servers, storage, networking and software. Another is an active-active disaster-recovery arrangement, intended to help services continue if a system suffers an outage. Those are descriptions of improvement work; the report does not establish that every component has already been completed.
For the 10 November incident, the confirmed development is the company’s explanation following access complaints. The reports read do not supply an independently verified number of affected users, a count of failed payments or evidence that reserved tickets were cancelled because of the delays. Those figures are therefore left out. Related service and platform announcements appear in NewsPlainly’s technology coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Did IRCTC confirm that its website was completely down?
No. Its clarification said the reservation portal remained operational, but very high concurrent logins delayed access for some users.
Was service normal after the complaints?
IRCTC said e-ticketing service through all its channels was normal when it issued its statement. That is the company’s account at that time.
Does the 89% online share cover all railway travel?
No. It is the rounded share of reserved tickets in the June 2025 to June 2026 figures reported by The Indian Express.