LivED It is an ED original style where we write about our personal experiences on experiencing and reviewing any app/place/website which gives us a feeling of coming back for more. 


The IRCTC recently overhauled their website to something which has a fresh and modern look. Needless to say, it is exponentially better than the old one and doesn’t make you want to just shut off your computer and ask an agent to book your tickets.

The old IRCTC website was somewhat of a joke. Its slow speed was the punchline to most jokes about things being slow. People did not expect much out of it, except doing the bare minimum.

The original design was clunky, confusing, and made you sign in before you could do anything, even checking for availability of trains. It had a very basic and unexciting color scheme. Once you had signed in, you could search for trains and see their availability.

The design was clunky and confusing and a sign-in was required before you could do anything

What’s New?

However, in the new design, quite a few things have changed. When you open the new website, which can be accessed through the “Try New Website” button on irctc.co.in, you are greeted by a dialog box asking for your city of departure and destination, as well as the dates.

The new design

This is very different from the old design, where you had to first sign in to see the availability of trains. On this screen, you can also search your train by the unique PNR number to track it, find departure time, etc.

One thing to note is the fact that the sign in and register options are hidden away at the very top and are difficult to find, which might be problematic for users who are using the new website to for example just download their previously booked tickets.


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After this initial step, the process is pretty much the same. You are shown the list of trains that are going to your destination city on the selected dates. You can select the train that suits you best, check the availability and book. You are only required to sign in when you have selected the train that you want.

Booking screen in the old website
Booking screen in the new website

On the first page of the new website, you also have various options such as Flights, hotels, packages etc, which redirect you to IRCTC’s flight booking platform in the case of flights and the IRCTC’s tourism website on other cases.

This is extremely useful for people looking to plan entire trips and are dissatisfied with other popular travel websites.

IRCTC ‘s tourism website

Scrolling further down provides you information about certain special packages that IRCTC offers.

What’s Not New?

Apart from the initial screen which allows you to search trains without signing in and the very clear and highlighted flight and booking options, not much has changed.

This design of the top menu is carried forward into the new design

The design is a lot better with better visuals and less of a clunky design. But the rest of the options in the top tab like “My Account”, “IRCTC e-wallet” etc are the same as before.

What’s Better?

You are only required to log in after this step, which saves a lot of time

The new IRCTC website fresh design increases user attractiveness and draws people back in. It is now less crowded and gives you only the options that you require the most.

Those who had used 3rd party services to book tickets would now prefer to come back to the default website because of this factor.

The feature that allows you to search train status straight from the website’s main page is great and saves a lot of time. The option to search trains without signing in is also a great step that was long overdue.

All in all, the new redesign is a step in the right direction towards modernizing the railways and providing a comprehensive digital experience for travelers. 


Image Credits: Google Images


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