With the festive season approaching, passengers trying to book train tickets on IRCTC are running into a different kind of rush – repeated server errors and failed bookings. Over the past couple of days, several users have taken to social media to complain that the IRCTC website and app are either getting stuck, loading slowly or showing messages such as “Unable to process” requests during booking.
However, IRCTC has not issued any official statement so far confirming whether a technical problem or outage is behind the complaints.
Many passengers took to X to share screenshots and details of their booking troubles.
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A user wrote, “What the hell is going on here? Trying to book ticket since last 5 days, everyday technical issues and server error. Once the site is back then it says 100 plus waitlist. If server was down who the hell did book the ticket.”
@IRCTCofficial What the hell is going on here? Trying to book ticket since last 5 days, everyday technical issues and server error. Once the site is back then it says 100 plus waitlist. If server was down who the hell did book the ticket. Ashvini is saying new website will solve… pic.twitter.com/HJypJ8iuxi
— Liza Ray (@krish99199) September 6, 2026
Another passenger said, “Trying to book a Tatkal ticket today from NSCB Jn Gomo (GMO) to Bhadrak (BHC), and IRCTC keeps showing ‘High Load – Please retry' and then ‘Unable to process request.”
@RailMinIndia @RailwaySeva Trying to book a Tatkal ticket today from NSCB Jn Gomo (GMO) to Bhadrak (BHC), and IRCTC keeps showing “High Load – Please retry” and then “Unable to process request.”
— Susil Bailochan Nayak (@SUSILKUMARNAY10) September 11, 2026
Another post claimed that the problem had continued for three days, with passengers repeatedly seeing the “Server Busy” message. The user also said that money was deducted from the IRCTC Wallet even though the booking failed and showed “Ticket Failed”.
“This is causing serious inconvenience to passengers. Please investigate this issue urgently, refund/credit the deducted amount, and provide a permanent technical solution so passengers can book tickets without repeated server failures,” the person wrote.
@AshwiniVaishnaw @railindia @narendramodi @pmo @drmbct
— Ashok Gami (@ashok4382) September 8, 2026
Dear @IRCTCofficial,
For the last 3 days, we have been trying to book train tickets, but repeatedly getting the “Server Busy” error, even while using a proper 5G network.
Because of this technical issue, passengers are… pic.twitter.com/C9wYpSCbi6
Also Read: Over 20 Lakh Tickets In A Day: Railways Records Highest-Ever Bookings Amid Festive Rush
A separate user tagged PMO India while complaining about difficulties booking a ticket for Diwali travel.
They wrote, “My humble request to you to improve ticket booking on railway. I am trying to book ticket to home for Diwali from last three days but daily app got stuck and i am unable to book it.”
Dear @PMOIndia my humble request to you to improve ticket booking on railway. I am trying to book ticket to home for Diwali from last three days but daily app got stuck and i am unable to book it. App remain James from 8 am to 9 am showing this type of message @AshwiniVaishnaw https://t.co/RR1RrzfV5W
— Jatin Jain Saraf (@JatinJainSaraf1) September 8, 2026
The complaints come at a time when demand for railway tickets is rising ahead of the festival season. Indian Railways recorded its highest-ever daily passenger bookings on September 7, when 22.26 lakh tickets were booked through the reservation system, as per an Economic Times report.
The increased traffic could be adding pressure to the booking system, although there has been no official confirmation linking the current complaints to server load.
The latest issues also come soon after IRCTC launched the beta version of its redesigned website in July 2026. The Railway Ministry had said the new platform was aimed at making ticket booking simpler, with a cleaner interface and fewer unnecessary CAPTCHAS. IRCTC handles around 14.5 lakh tickets on an average day, according to the ministry.
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