Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is an Indianpublic sector undertaking that provides ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the state-ownedIndian Railways. It was established in 1999 by theGovernment of India and operates under the administrative control of theMinistry of Railways. In 2019, it was listed on theNational Stock Exchange andBombay Stock Exchange with the Government holding a 67% ownership. As of December 2023, there are 66 million registered users with IRCTC with a daily average of 7.31 lakh tickets booked.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) was established on 27 September 1999, as apublic sector undertaking completely owned by theGovernment of India through theIndian Railways.[4] In May 2008, it was classed as aMiniratna public corporation, which allowed it a certain degree of financial autonomy.[4] In 2018, thenRailway MinisterPiyush Goyal stated that the government was exploring opportunities for disinvestment of IRCTC.[5]
The company was listed on theNational Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2019, following which the Government of India's holding was reduced to 87%, with the remaining shares being publicly traded.[6][7] In December 2020, the Government of India divested another 20%, reducing its holding in the IRCTC to 67%.[8][9][10] In December 2022, the government disinvested further 5% of its share, reducing its ownership to 62.4%.[11] In March 2025, IRCTC was accordednavaratna status by the Government of India.[12]
Online ticketing for Indian Railways was introduced on 3 August 2002 through IRCTC.[13] IRCTC provides multiple channels for passengers to book tickets throughwebsite,smartphone apps andSMS. For Electronic tickets (e-tickets) booked online, IRCTC issues an electronic ticket with a referencePNR on a successful booking.[14] Electronic tickets can be used for travel along with a valid photo identification and cancellation can be done online.[14][15] For Internet tickets (I-tickets), while the booking is done online, physical tickets are sent to the customer throughpost.[14]
Reserved tickets may be booked up to 30 days in advance and confirmed reservation tickets will show the passenger and fare details along with berth or seat number(s) allocated to them on the ticket. In case of no confirmed reservation, a wait-list (WL) number is assigned. There are different types of wait-lists depending on the originating and destination stations of the train and the passenger including Roadside Station Waiting List (RSWL) when tickets are booked from the originating station to an intermediate station and Pooled Quota Waiting List (PQWL) where tickets booked to travel between specific sets of stations are pooled as a single category. A General Waiting List (GNWL) ticket has no such restrictions, and wait-listed tickets get confirmed if there are cancellations of already reserved tickets in the respective categories and get cancelled automatically if seats are not confirmed before the departure of the train.[16]Reservation against cancellation tickets (RAC) is an intermediate category between the waiting and confirmed lists in sleeper classes which allows a ticket holder to board the train and share a berth.[17] Reserved tickets can be booked by passengers who want to travel at short notice at higher fares through theTatkal quota (TQ), which has a standalone waiting list (TQWL) and no refund is applicable on cancellation of confirmed tickets.[18]
In 2011, IRCTC launched a loyalty program called Shubh Yatra for frequent travelers wherein passengers could avail discounts on all tickets by paying an upfront annual subscription fee.[19] In 2012, IRCTC introduced theRolling Deposit Scheme (RDS), a type of closed wallet wherein customers can book tickets using money already deposited.[20] In 2013, flight and hotel booking services were added as a part of online reservation services.[21] In 2016, IRCTC launched a lighter version of its website to enable booking at low-speed internet connections.[22] On 7 August 2019, IRCTC launched a payment wallet namediMudra.[23][24] On 11 August 2021, IRCTC introduced a smart card system through which unreserved train tickets can be bought either at railway stations or online.[25] IRCTC provides train and ticketing related information to passengers through SMS.[26]
IRCTC has exclusive rights for onboard catering of food on all trains operated by the Indian Railways.Pantry cars are attached to long and medium distance trains, where food may be prepared onboard or pre-cooked meals can be served depending on the type of the train and the accommodation class.[27] IRCTC also operates food plazas, cafeterias andrefreshment rooms at various railway stations.[28] In 2014, IRCTC launched e-catering services which allowed passengers to order food from private restaurants online or through phone and have it delivered to their seats.[29][30] IRCTC also manages air-conditioned waiting lounges, retiring rooms and budget hotels at major railway stations.[31][32][33] IRCTC launched abottled water brand "Rail Neer" in 2003, which is sold on trains and railway stations.[34][35][36] During the2025 Prayag Kumbh Mela, IRCTC offered tent accommodations to visitors.[37]
IRCTC operates luxury trains such as Maharajas' Express,Deccan Odyssey and other special tourist trains with varied classes.[38] These may include standard coaches, regular coaches with modifications and specially designed coaches with coupes, dedicated cabins and suites.[39]
IRCTC also organizes package tours for domestic and foreign tourists.[44] IRCTC also enables booking of various services including hotel, flight, taxi, and food delivery in co-ordination with third parties through the platform.[45]
IRCTC offers travel insurance for passengers through a third party insurer. In 2018, a security researcher reported that a free travel insurance scheme offered by IRCTC, which caused users on their app to be redirected to a third party insurer, had left the information of approximately 2 lakh passengers exposed for two years.[46][47] In response, IRCTC discontinued the insurance scheme before fixing the vulnerability that had left this data exposed.[48]
In May 2020, the IRCTC madeAarogya Setu, an app launched by Government of India, to trackCOVID-19.[49] In May 2020, the app was made mandatory for train travel.[50] In June 2020, the government clarified that downloading the app was optional and not mandatory for train travel after a directive from theKarnataka High Court.[51]
In 2018, IRCTC announced that it is exploring on ways to increase revenues through the utilization of passenger data.[52] This raised concerns on sharing and safety of passenger data stored with IRCTC.[53] During the2020–2021 Indian farmers' protests, IRCTC officials used passengere-mail data that had been provided to them to book tickets, in order to email pamphlets promoting Government welfare schemes and policies toSikhs fromPunjab.[54] IRCTC officials denied that e-mails were selectively targeted at members of the Sikh community.[55][56]
As of December 2023, there are 66 million registered users with IRCTC with a daily average of 7.31 lakh tickets booked.[3] IRCTC also enables various services in co-ordination with third parties where the same user data is shared.[45]
In 2016,Maharashtra Police reported a potential leak of personal information relating to 10 million users registered with IRCTC.[57] IRCTC set up a committee consisting of officials from the IRCTC andCentre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) to examine the report and declared that the data with IRCTC was safe and some data shared with third parties might have been leaked.[58][59][60][61] In October 2020, passenger data of more than 9 lakh individuals surfaced in dark web with IRCTC denying the leak.[62]
₹4,675 crore (US$550 million) (FY25)[1]
NIFTY 200 companies
