IRCTC Tatkal booking woes spark outrage; ‘App crashes, but how agents always get tickets’

A viral post by a Bihar-based lawyer has reignited a long-standing grievance among railway passengers: why does IRCTC’s Tatkal booking system consistently fail for regular users while travel agents seem to book tickets seamlessly?

The post by Sonu Nigam, not the singer but a lawyer, struck a chord with thousands when he documented his real-time experience of trying to book a Tatkal ticket for the Garib Rath Express. 

“Booking starts at 10 AM. At 10:01, the app says ‘booking not started.’ Then it crashes. By 10:04, the system responds and I’m waitlisted at 41. 240 seats gone in 4 minutes,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), sharing two screenshots as proof.

Netizens Cry Foul: 'Magical Software for Agents?'

Within hours, users flooded the thread with similar complaints. “This is the story every single day. Agents have some magical software, we don’t stand a chance,” wrote one user.

Another commented, “Even with 5G internet and logging in at 9:55, I haven’t been able to book a Tatkal ticket in years. But agents somehow always get it. This is a scam.”

I have come to know that agents have special software for booking train tickets.

— Jitendra Kumar Pandit (@jitendraphysio) May 28, 2025

It's true that booking Tatkal tickets online can be extremely difficult, even with a fast internet connection. Agents often seem to have a higher success rate.
Some agents may use software or scripts to automate the booking process, giving them an edge over individual users.…

— Dr. Swapnil B. Mantri (@drswapnilmantri) May 28, 2025

The most common allegation: that travel agents use ‘special software’ to bypass IRCTC’s booking delays and secure Tatkal tickets before general users even get past the loading screen.

IRCTC Responds, But Questions Remain

As outrage mounted, IRCTC issued an official response clarifying that during peak hours, especially Tatkal bookings, the system is flooded with simultaneous requests, which leads to delays, buffering, and rapid exhaustion of seats.

“We are constantly working to enhance the booking experience... processing may take additional time due to the high volume of users,” IRCTC stated, urging patience.

But that explanation did little to satisfy those who have faced the brunt of these issues for years. “This glitch is not new. It’s daily. If lakhs are logging in, how do agents manage to confirm every time?” asked one user, pointing to what many suspect is a loophole or an inside advantage.

But this is something that happens everyday. You can't keep telling the same thing for years without any improvement.

— (🕉, 🥑) Full Time Loser (@krackthecode) May 29, 2025

Allegations of ‘Unfair Access’

While there’s no official evidence of wrongdoing, the scale and consistency of agent success in booking Tatkal tickets, often advertised with a guarantee, have led to speculation about backdoor software or privileged access.

“You call any agent, they’ll say 100% confirmed Tatkal ticket. How can they promise that?” one tweet read.

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A Chronic Problem with No Clear Fix

The Tatkal booking system was introduced to help passengers in urgent need of travel, but over the years, it has become a source of frustration. With heavy internet traffic, app crashes, and suspicions of unfair advantage, everyday users feel increasingly sidelined.

“The technology should favour the common man, not the middlemen,” a user posted, summing up the sentiment.

While IRCTC has promised a better user experience in the future, no concrete roadmap was shared. For now, the common man continues to grapple with buffering apps while travel agents allegedly seem to glide through the system.