Indian Railways ticketing system: New user interface launched, check irctc.co.in

As the Narendra Modi government is trying to expand digital base in the country, India's national transporter Indian Railways is going all out to introduce technologies to provide better passenger experience and ensure safety.  Indian Railways earlier said that it was upgrading its signal systems with modern technologies to ensure better safety following accidents that sparked outrage among people in recent months. Indian Railways' online booking travel portal, www.irctc.co, has now launched a beta version of its new User Interface. The new version has more user friendly features for easier navigation, a Ministry of Railways statement said. The Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system of Railways provides easy and fast way of booking rail tickets by automating the journey planning and purchase of tickets.

E-ticketing today constitutes about two third of total reserved tickets on Indian Railways, the statement said. With the launch of new interface of e-Ticketing Website, user can now enquire / search trains and check availability of seats without login also, thereby saving precious time of the users. User can now change font size throughout the website for comfortable viewing experience.

The new version of the website has class-wise, train-wise, destination-wise, departure/arrival time wise and quota-wise filters for facilitating customers better experience while planning their journeys. Single-screen information about the train including the train number, train name, originating and destination station and distances between them, arrival and departure time and journey time has now been arranged. In addition, more features such as new filters on ‘My Transactions’ where user can also view their booked tickets based on Journey Date, Booking Date, Upcoming Journey and completed journey.

The idea was mooted by Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal last year to ensure better user experience by employing best Information Technology industry practices. In the new system, user can perform multiple activities through booked history with improved interface for cancellation of tickets, printing of tickets, request for additional SMS, selecting alternative train by exercising the option of ‘Vikalp’ and change of boarding point if required. Technological advancements in the development of New User Interface also facilitate seamless navigation in mobiles, desktops, laptops and tablets.

IRCTC website users have been invited to initially switch to the beta version of the website and get the first hand experience of its look, feel and usage for a period of 15 days during which Railways will take suggestions from them for further changes and improvement of the site. After this the beta version of the new interface will replace the old interface of IRCTC e-ticketing portal enabling a smooth transition of the users to the new interface.