The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is one of the most common websites that people use to book train tickets and meals.

During peak hours, such as during tatkal bookings, the IRCTC website may become inaccessible due to high traffic and may not work as intended. However, this may not be the only reason for the website to show unusual behaviour.

In this article, we’ll explain the most common reasons why the IRCTC site isn’t working and will help you in fixing it.

Why is the IRCTC site not working?

Here are some reasons why the IRCTC website is not working:

Server outages: The most common reason the IRCTC website is down is severe outages. This happens during the festival or tatkal booking, when millions of people try to access the website at the same time, and hence the server is likely to fail. Moreover, the corporation also schedules server maintenance occasionally, which may cause the website to go down.
Issues with your browser: Sometimes, issues with your browser, such as outdated browser apps, corrupt cache, or incompatible extensions, may cause the website not to work.
Internet issues: Your internet may fluctuate or not work properly, which may cause severe network problems, and you won’t access any site.

Also read: How to change your IRCTC phone number?

Quick fixes to resolve IRCTC website not working issue

Now that we have understood the common reason why the IRCTC website is not working, let us quickly head to the fixes:

Restart your device

Probably the easiest step that you can take is to restart your computer or mobile device. This will clear out the bad files and the computer will start afresh.

Fix your browser problems

Now, there can be tons of browser problems that may cause the website to not work, including the IRCTC one.

Update your browser

You should keep your browser updated at all times. Here’s how to update Google Chrome, one of the most widely used browsers:

Step 1: Open Chrome and click the three dots at the top right. Then, click Settings.

Step 2: Click on About Chrome on the left panel and then click on the update button.

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Clear cache

Cache are small files that help in remembering important bits of data that you use frequently and deliver it quickly to save time. However, over time, the cache files may become too large and can get corrupted.

So, removing these cache files is of primary importance.

Head to our article on how to clear cache on Google Chrome where we have discussed two methods to do so.

Turn off extensions

Sometimes, incompatible extensions on your browser may interfere with the normal working on the website and can cause it to crash. Therefore, you should check and remove any unwanted extensions from your browser.

Step 1: Click on the Extensions options at the top right and then select Manage extensions.

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Step 2: Now, select the extension and either click on Remove to delete it or turn off the toggle to temporarily disable it.

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Fix your internet

To make a quick reservation on the IRCTC website, you will need fast internet. A slow and laggy internet will cause problems for you and the IRCTC website will open slowly or not open at all if the traffic is too much.

Head to our article on what to do if the internet isn’t working for the fixes.

If there is a problem with your WiFi, you can fix it by heading to our article on what to do if the WiFi is not working.

In conclusion, if the IRCTC site is not working, it can be due to several issues including server outages, issues with the browser, or issues with your internet. Except for the first one where you can do nothing much, for the other two, head to the fixes that we have listed above and you are good to go.

Also read: How to delete your IRCTC account?