Indian Railways launches upgraded IRCTC website to 'enhance ticket booking & travel'

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on December 31 launched the revamped website and mobile application of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) that not only has better features but is more user friendly for the passengers. The upgraded IRCTC e-ticketing website was launched after the Railway Minister reviewed all the features that according to him are essential for holistic convenience to travellers for their railway journey.

The national transporter had been working on the IRCTC website in order to elevate the user personalisation and facilitation. From booking taxies, meals, to other facilities that passengers can choose while booking tickets online, the new IRCTC website is equipped with it on a single page. IRCTC has more than six crore registered users and the revamped version can book over 25,000 tickets each minute which was previously only 2,000 tickets per minute.

After the launch, Goyal not only congratulated every official involved in the process but also noted that on the last day of 2020, Indian Railways added yet another boost to its facilities. The Union Minister also lauded the work that Railways managed to pull off throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The official e-ticketing web portal of IRCTC gives passengers the facility to reserve online in the train services offered by the Indian Railways. As per the ANI report, more focus was laid on improving the experience of the passengers in booking the tickets since 2014. Moreover, the upgraded IRCTC e-ticketing website was launched just a day after Union Minister Piyush Goyal on December 30 unveiled new Vistadome tourist coaches manufactured by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. 

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New Vistadome coaches in Indian Railways

Calling it ending 2020 on a “great note” to noting the importance of the journey, the Union Minister has previously also announced that Indian Railways have completed 180 kmph speed trial of the newest coaches aimed at making travel more ‘memorable’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the Vistadome tourist coaches as “comfort” in combination with “cutting-edge technology”.

From glass rooftops to wide windows offering a panoramic view, the new Vistadome coaches now part of the Indian railways are primarily built to provide elevated sight-seeing experience for the tourists. As of now, Indian Railways have incorporated 13 Vistadome coaches that will be operating in select routes including Dadar and Madgaon, Araku Valley, Kashmir Valley, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway among others.

In a separate statement released earlier this year, it was also disclosed that the manufacturing cost of a single Vistadome coach is nearly Rs 4 crore. The coach has 44 seats for passengers with rotation up to 180 degrees along with a Wi-Fi-based passenger information system.

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