Why Does the IRCTC App Crash During Festive Seasons? A Detailed Explanation
Every year during India's major festivals, such as Diwali, Holi, and Dussehra, millions of travelers rely on the IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) app and website to book train tickets. However, users frequently encounter issues like the app crashing, freezing, or being unresponsive during these peak seasons. Why does this happen? In this blog, we'll explore the key reasons behind the IRCTC app crashes and server slowdowns during high-traffic periods and how users can better navigate these challenges.
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Why Does the IRCTC App Crash?
There are several technical and infrastructure-related reasons why the IRCTC app and website experience downtime, slow response, or crashes during festive seasons. Let’s dive deeper into the root causes:
1. Surge in Traffic During Festive Seasons
Festive Rush: Festivals such as Diwali and Holi see a massive surge in travel bookings. On a regular day, the IRCTC system handles around 8-10 lakh users. However, during the festive season, this number can spike to 2-3 crores.
Simultaneous Logins: When millions of people log in at the same time (for example, when Tatkal booking opens), it results in an overwhelming number of requests being sent to IRCTC’s servers. This causes app slowdowns, timeouts, or even crashes.
2. Limited Server Capacity
Capacity Limitations: IRCTC’s infrastructure is designed to handle normal traffic levels, but festive seasons push the servers far beyond their designed limits.
Overloaded Servers: The servers are hit with millions of requests in a short span of time. With so many simultaneous logins and booking attempts, the servers simply can’t keep up, resulting in crashes.
3. Peak Load During Specific Booking Windows
Tatkal Ticket Booking: The Tatkal ticket booking window (for short-notice bookings) opens at 10 AM for AC classes and 11 AM for non-AC classes. During these windows, the number of users trying to book tickets simultaneously skyrockets, often overwhelming the system.
Payment Gateway Overload: After successfully selecting a ticket, the next bottleneck is the payment gateway. Millions of users trying to make payments simultaneously can cause the payment systems to slow down or fail altogether.
4. High Volume of Real-Time Data Processing
Real-Time Availability: IRCTC continuously updates train availability, seat reservations, and booking status in real-time. Managing this dynamic data for millions of users at once requires massive computational power, which further taxes the servers.
Session Management: Handling millions of user sessions at the same time increases the risk of session expiries and timeouts, leading to frustration among users.
5. Outdated or Insufficient Infrastructure
Legacy Systems: Although IRCTC has upgraded its systems over time, many users believe the infrastructure still relies on older technologies that struggle to meet modern traffic demands. Upgrading to state-of-the-art servers and cloud-based solutions could help manage the traffic better, but it requires significant investment.
Lack of Scalability: IRCTC’s current setup may lack the ability to scale dynamically during peak hours. In contrast, advanced cloud-based infrastructure can adjust server capacity based on real-time demand, but this may not be fully implemented yet.
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Common Problems Users Face on IRCTC During High Traffic
Users encounter various issues when the IRCTC app and website face heavy traffic during festivals. Some of the common problems include:
Login Issues: The app may fail to log users in, displaying timeout or “server busy” errors.
Page Load Time: Slow page loads can cause users to miss their ticket booking window.
Payment Failures: After successfully selecting a ticket, payment failures occur frequently due to overloaded payment gateways.
Session Expiry: Users may be kicked out of their session if the system cannot handle the traffic, forcing them to restart the process.
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How Does High Traffic Affect IRCTC’s Performance?
1. Increased Latency
When millions of users try to access the IRCTC app simultaneously, the servers take longer to respond to each request. This increased latency causes delays in page loads, logins, and bookings.
2. Server Crashes
At a certain point, when the load on the servers exceeds their capacity, the system may crash altogether. This results in the app or website becoming unavailable for a period of time, frustrating users.
3. Unsuccessful Transactions
Even if a user manages to select a train and proceed to the payment gateway, the chance of transaction failure is significantly higher during festive seasons. This happens because the payment gateway, much like the rest of the system, is flooded with requests and struggles to process them in real-time.
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Why Doesn’t IRCTC Upgrade Its Servers to Handle Crores of Users?
Many users wonder why IRCTC doesn’t simply upgrade its servers to handle more traffic, especially during high-demand seasons. Here are a few reasons why this is not as straightforward as it seems:
1. Cost of Infrastructure
Upgrading servers to handle crores of users instead of lakhs requires a significant financial investment. The servers need to be upgraded not only to handle the increased load but also to manage real-time data processing and secure payments.
2. Temporary Traffic Surge
The massive traffic surge happens primarily during festivals, while the rest of the year sees much lower traffic. Maintaining a high-capacity server year-round just for a few weeks of high traffic may not be cost-effective for IRCTC.
3. Technical Limitations
The IRCTC system involves managing complex, real-time data across multiple platforms, including railway schedules, seat availability, cancellations, and payments. Even with upgraded servers, handling this dynamic data for millions of users simultaneously presents a significant technical challenge.
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How Users Can Improve Their Chances of Booking Tickets During Peak Traffic
While IRCTC works to improve its infrastructure, here are a few tips for users to improve their experience during peak booking times:
1. Book During Non-Peak Hours
If possible, try booking your tickets during off-peak hours, avoiding the rush when Tatkal booking opens.
2. Pre-Save Your Details
Pre-fill passenger details and payment information to reduce time spent during the actual booking process, giving you a better chance of securing tickets.
3. Use High-Speed Internet
A high-speed internet connection can help reduce the time it takes to submit your request, especially when the server is under heavy load.
4. Stay Informed
Keep an eye on IRCTC notifications regarding scheduled maintenance or updates, which may affect your booking experience.
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Conclusion: High Traffic is Inevitable, But Solutions Exist
The festive season is always going to be a challenging time for platforms like IRCTC due to the sheer volume of traffic. While server crashes and slowdowns may seem frustrating, understanding the reasons behind them can help users navigate the system more effectively.
With technological advancements like cloud-based scalability, load balancing, and queue management systems, there is hope that platforms like IRCTC can handle high traffic better in the future. Until then, users must be patient and use the tips mentioned above to improve their chances of successfully booking tickets during high-demand periods.
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