HYDERABAD: For thousands of Hyderabad residents planning to return to their native places in Andhra Pradesh for Sankranti, booking a Tatkal train ticket has become an ordeal rather than a festive routine. With regular tickets selling out nearly two months in advance, many passengers are forced to depend on the Tatkal quota, only to find that securing a seat during the narrow booking window is almost impossible.
The problem is most acute on high-demand routes such as Hyderabad–Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad–Vijayawada. Trains like the Garib Rath Express and Godavari Express have emerged as focal points of passenger frustration.
Although the Garib Rath offered around 400 Tatkal seats for Sankranti — slightly higher than its usual quota — the seats were snapped up within seconds of the booking window opening.
Several passengers alleged that even after entering details and completing payment, the IRCTC website or mobile application often logs them out abruptly. In many cases, the fare is deducted from their accounts but the ticket remains unconfirmed, leaving passengers anxious about refunds and forcing them to repeat the entire process.
Frequent technical glitches during the crucial booking minutes have further compounded commuter woes. Many users reported repeated connection errors, frozen screens and unexplained logouts. “The site freezes just when the payment is done,” complained a passenger who has been unsuccessfully trying to book a ticket to Visakhapatnam for three consecutive days.
Confusion over recently introduced Tatkal booking rules has also added to passenger frustration. While the measures were introduced to curb misuse and ensure fairness, many users said the additional verification steps slow down the process during the most critical seconds.
“Though my account is Aadhaar-verified, I am unable to book a Tatkal ticket as the site often lags. The moment I am directed to the payment page, the number of available tickets drops to single digits,” said R Nava Teja, an IT employee in Hyderabad and a native of Visakhapatnam. “Even after successful payment, it takes about a minute to process the funds. By the time the site acknowledges it, the waiting list crosses 100,” he added.
He said the situation was no better on the IRCTC mobile application. “After payment, the screen goes blank and never confirms the ticket status. By the time I realise there is a glitch, all tickets are booked, forcing me to look for expensive alternatives. Even premium Tatkal tickets are getting sold at three to four times the regular fare,” he said.
Tatkal tickets are particularly crucial for IT professionals and private-sector employees in Hyderabad, many of whom get limited festival holidays and remain uncertain about travel dates until the last moment. With little scope for advance planning, they rely heavily on Tatkal bookings to make it home for Sankranti.
Earlier, automated bots and scripts were widely used by agents to corner Tatkal seats within seconds. To address this, the Railways introduced measures such as mandatory Aadhaar verification, blocking suspicious user IDs and prioritising verified users. While intended to improve fairness, passengers said the extra verification time further reduces their chances during peak demand.
Meanwhile, private travel operators appear to be cashing in on the situation.
With many passengers failing to secure Tatkal tickets, bus operators have sharply increased fares. “While RTC special bus fares do not exceed a 50% hike, private operators are charging two to three times more,” said another IT employee, Sai Lakshmi.
On the Hyderabad–Visakhapatnam route, an RTC ticket now costs Rs 1,889, while private bus fares range between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, with sleeper buses charging even more.
Similar trends were reported on routes to Rajamahendravaram and Vijayawada, where private sleeper buses are charging nearly double the RTC fares. Burdened by these costs, many middle-class families said they were unable to travel home for the festival.
Passengers have appealed to authorities to operate more special trains to ease the rush.