Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation: Difference between revisions
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===Online ticketing=== |
===Online ticketing=== |
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IRCTC is better known for changing the face of railway ticketing in India |
IRCTC is better known for changing the face of railway ticketing in India. It pioneered [[Internet]]-based rail ticket booking through its website, as well as from the mobile phones via [[GPRS]] or [[SMS]]. Ticket cancellations or modifications can also be done online. In addition to [[E-ticket]]s, IRCTC also offers I-tickets that are basically like regular tickets except that they are booked online and delivered by post. The Tickets PNR Status is also made available here recently. |
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Commuters on [[Mumbai suburban railway|Mumbai's suburban railway]] can also book season tickets through the IRCTC website. |
Commuters on [[Mumbai suburban railway|Mumbai's suburban railway]] can also book season tickets through the IRCTC website. |
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IRCTC's highest ever per day booking is 4.96 lakh e-tickets on 13 July 2012.<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/IRCTC-registers-highest-ever-e-ticket-sales/articleshow/15121625.cms</ref> |
IRCTC's highest ever per day booking is 4.96 lakh e-tickets on 13 July 2012.<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/IRCTC-registers-highest-ever-e-ticket-sales/articleshow/15121625.cms</ref> |
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Inspite of the best infrastructure, IRCTC website suffers heavy traffic in peak hours, specially 0800 hrs and 1000 hrs. IRCTC takes preventive steps regularly but consumers still face heavy lag during peak hours. |
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IRCTC is currently using 58 iridium servers and 10 more servers to be added soon to cater the heavy traffic in peak hours.<ref>http://www.pnrstatus.co.in/quick-facts-about-irctc/</ref> |
IRCTC is currently using 58 iridium servers and 10 more servers to be added soon to cater the heavy traffic in peak hours.<ref>http://www.pnrstatus.co.in/quick-facts-about-irctc/</ref> |
Revision as of 12:55, 17 December 2012
![]() | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (January 2012) |
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Company type | Subsidiary of the Indian Railways |
---|---|
Industry | Railways |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | India |
Services | Catering, Tourism and Online Ticketing |
Parent | Indian Railways |
Website | IRCTC website |
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles the catering, tourism and online ticketing operations of the railways.
Services
Catering
As per new Railway Catering Policy 2010(Introduced by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee), catering services provided by IRCTC were handed over to INDIAN Railways. Now IRCTC is in charge of catering services on few trains such as All Duranto Exp, Frakkha Exp, Maitree Express( Train between INDIA and BANGLADESH),Kandhari Exp and some Rajdhani Exp rest all of train operated by Zonal Railways railway stations across India.IRCTC also started NRC project(NON RAILWAY CATERING) under which cafeteria were operated in many Indian Ministries and Institutes.
Online ticketing
IRCTC is better known for changing the face of railway ticketing in India. It pioneered Internet-based rail ticket booking through its website, as well as from the mobile phones via GPRS or SMS. Ticket cancellations or modifications can also be done online. In addition to E-tickets, IRCTC also offers I-tickets that are basically like regular tickets except that they are booked online and delivered by post. The Tickets PNR Status is also made available here recently.
Commuters on Mumbai's suburban railway can also book season tickets through the IRCTC website.
IRCTC has also recently launched a loyalty program called 'Shubh Yatra' for frequent travellers. Through this program, passengers can avail of discounts on all tickets booked round the year by paying an upfront annual fee.[1]
IRCTC has also launched flights and hotels booking facilities which added to their line of online reservation services.[2]
Seeking to make it easier to book e-tickets, IRCTC has decided to launch a scheme called Rolling Deposit Scheme (RDS) a hassle-free e-ticket booking scheme allowing passengers to reserve seats against advance money kept with the corporation.[3]
IRCTC's highest ever per day booking is 4.96 lakh e-tickets on 13 July 2012.[4]
Inspite of the best infrastructure, IRCTC website suffers heavy traffic in peak hours, specially 0800 hrs and 1000 hrs. IRCTC takes preventive steps regularly but consumers still face heavy lag during peak hours.
IRCTC is currently using 58 iridium servers and 10 more servers to be added soon to cater the heavy traffic in peak hours.[5]
Tourism
IRCTC also organizes budget and deluxe package tours for domestic and foreign tourists. A popular tourism package for budget tourists covering important tourist destination across India is Bharat Darshan.[6] Luxury tourism packages are also available, that involve special luxury trains such as:
- Palace on Wheels
- Royal Orient Express
- Golden Chariot
- Deccan Odyssey
- Royal Rajasthan on Wheels
- Buddhist Circuit Train
and IRCTC is a partner in the Maharajas’ Express operation.[7]
One may log on to railtourismindia.com.[8] and book Rail Tour Package, Holiday Package, Hotels, Cabs, Tourist Trains online.
Apart from conventional tourism, IRCTC also offers adventure tourism packages that include water sports, adventure and wildlife treks, etc. A provision for customising tours as per specific requirements is also an added attraction.
Awards and achievements
Within a short span of its going online, the IRCTC website had become the largest and the fastest growing e-commerce website in the Asia-Pacific region, with about six lakh registered users in 2003.[9]
Tatkal Booking
The Tatkal Scheme is a scheme introduced to the Indian Railways by Railway Minister Nitish Kumar in Sleeper Class, AC Chair Cars, 3 Tier AC and 2 Tier AC Classes in almost all Mail/Express trains in India. The booking starts at 10:00 hrs daily one day prior to the departure of the train from source station.
Some of the other awards won by IRCTC are:
- Awarded the National Tourism Award of Excellence by Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.
- Awarded the National Award for E-Governance, 2007-08 jointly by Department of IT, Govt. of India and Govt. of Haryana.
- Awarded the Genius of the Web Award 2007 for being the "Best E-Governance PSU Site" by CNBC.
- IRCTC Tourism Unit of West Zone declared winner for the category Best Value Leisure Product in Travel and Tourism Fair of India (TTF & OTM 2008) held in Mumbai from 9 to 11 February 2008.
- Won National award for E-Governance for being "Best Citizen Centric Application" for the year 2007-08.
- IRCTC Tourism Unit declared winner for the category Most Innovative Product in Travel and Tourism Fair of India (TTF & OTM 2007) held in Mumbai from 10 to 12 February 2007.
- Won CSI-Nihilent E-Governance award for "Best E-Governance Project" in 2007.
- Won the ICICI Bank Retail Excellence Award in 2005.
- Won Path Breaker Award from Dataquest in 2003 and 2004.
- Awarded the Mini Ratna Category-1 by Ministry of Railways, Govt. of India
References
- ^ Shubh Yatra loyalty program
- ^ IRCTC
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/news/internet/IRCTC-registers-highest-ever-e-ticket-sales/articleshow/15121625.cms
- ^ http://www.pnrstatus.co.in/quick-facts-about-irctc/
- ^ Bharat Darshan
- ^ Gupta, Jayanta (2010-03-19). "Rs 1 lakh a night on Maharajas' Express". Times of India. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
- ^ [2]
- ^ "At your doorstep". The Hindu.[dead link]
External links
Other Links
- Railway PNR status Railway PNR
- IRCTC Railway
- IRCTC PNR Status
- IRCTC PNR status Irctc PNR Status
- IRCTC login
- Indian Rail Gov - for train and PNR inquiries
- Official Indian Rail Tourism website
- Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation offers to open budget hotels at Gaya, Rajgir
- Refund and charges applicable for waitlisted and cancelled tickets