The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is a key organization under Indian Railways responsible for providing online ticket booking, catering, and tourism services. Over the years, it has transformed railway ticketing in India by shifting from manual booking systems to a fully digital platform. Today, IRCTC handles millions of ticket bookings daily, making it one of the largest and most complex e-commerce systems in the country. However, with increasing population, rapid urbanization, and growing travel demand, the platform is facing significant operational challenges.

One of the most critical issues is the mismatch between demand and supply. During peak travel periods such as festivals, holidays, and weekends, the demand for tickets exceeds the available seats by a large margin. This results in long waiting lists and a high number of passengers being unable to secure confirmed tickets. The Tatkal booking system, which is designed to provide last-minute tickets, becomes highly competitive and often fails to serve its intended purpose due to system overload and excessive demand.