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Trip Planning 3 min read

IRCTC says no outage, just festive-rush login delays: how to beat the Tatkal queue this season

IRCTC denied a 10 November outage, saying exceptional concurrent logins during the Diwali-Chhath rush delayed some users. What happened and the habits that actually get you a Tatkal seat.

· 11 Nov 2026 · 3 min read · Last verified: 12 Nov 2026
11 Nov 2026
Last verified: 12 Nov 2026
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Indian couple booking train tickets on a laptop at home during the festive season
At a glance
What happened
Login delays, not outage
When
10 Nov morning
Cause
Diwali-Chhath login surge
Status now
Normal, per IRCTC
Tip
Log in 5-10 min before Tatkal
Send to Mummy-Papa Opens WhatsApp with a short summary — pick who to send it to.

If you could not log in to IRCTC on the morning of 10 November, you were not alone, and it was not a full outage. IRCTC says its website and apps stayed up, but an exceptionally high volume of simultaneous logins during the Diwali-Chhath booking rush left some users waiting at the login page. The practical point for the days ahead: peak booking windows will stay crowded through this festive season, so prepare before Tatkal time instead of fighting the login queue.

What actually happened

After media reports said the ticket-booking portal was not working on the morning of 10 November, IRCTC issued a clarification through its official social media handle, IANS reported on 11 November. The company said the website and mobile apps continued to operate throughout, but the surge of concurrent login attempts around the Diwali and Chhath Puja travel peak meant some users experienced delayed logins. It stressed this was a login delay, not a system-wide outage, and said e-ticketing services across all channels have since returned to normal. IRCTC added that it continues to work on technology upgrades, infrastructure and process simplification for its reservation system.

How to beat the festive login crowd

Millions of people log in at the same moments during this season, especially at the 10 am and 11 am Tatkal openings. A few habits make the difference:

  • Log in five to ten minutes before the Tatkal window opens, not at the opening minute when the queue spikes
  • Keep a master list of passenger names, ages and ID details saved in your IRCTC profile so you paste instead of type
  • Decide the train, class and a backup train before you start; searching mid-rush wastes your session
  • Keep your payment method ready and saved, since payment timeouts cost the booking even after you get seats
  • If the website is slow, try the IRCTC Rail Connect app, or the other way around; the queues are not identical

If you are booking for parents

Book from your own account with their details saved rather than walking them through the login rush on their phone. If a senior citizen quota applies on your route, it is allotted at booking and is worth checking before Tatkal, since it is confirmed at a lower berth preference and does not depend on beating the queue.

We track service disruptions and booking-rule changes on IRCTC and update this page when things change. Last verified: 12 November 2026 against the IANS report carried by Zee News on 11 November 2026.

IRCTC login problemIRCTC outageTatkal booking tipstrain ticket festive rush
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Cheshta Agarwal
Founder · Travel Creator · Lawyer

A Miranda House graduate and lawyer who traded courtrooms for slow travel. Cheshta travels with the batches we host ourselves, with a soft spot for travelling alongside elders.

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Questions on this article

asked by readers, answered by us

Was IRCTC down on 10 November 2026?

No, says IRCTC. The website and apps kept working, but the Diwali-Chhath booking rush caused so many simultaneous logins that some users faced delays. IRCTC clarified it was a login delay, not a system-wide outage, and services are normal now.

What is the best way to get a Tatkal ticket in the festive rush?

Log in five to ten minutes before the Tatkal window opens, keep a master list of passenger details saved in your IRCTC profile, decide your train and a backup in advance, and keep your payment method ready. If the website is slow, try the Rail Connect app.

What should I do if IRCTC is slow when I am booking?

Try switching between the IRCTC website and the Rail Connect app, since their queues differ. During the festive season, logging in a few minutes before the Tatkal opening time matters more than anything else.

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