KOLLAM: One app, for all things train. That was the promise. But nearly a year since the Indian Railways launched RailOne, passengers are still waiting for the all-in-one platform to work reliably, in real time.
Launched in July 2025 as a single-window solution for rail services, RailOne was projected to simplify travel for millions. Users, however, continue to report persistent glitches and inaccuracies that raise serious questions about its reliability.
A visit by the TNIE to the Kollam Junction railway station revealed a telling example. While attempting to book a ticket from Kollam to Ernakulam Town on April 24 at 6am, the app showed no trains available for the next three hours. Enquiries at the station, however, confirmed that services were available during the same period.
Tatkal bookings have emerged as a particular pain point. Technical glitches after payment leave users uncertain about ticket confirmation, causing confusion and at times financial loss. Ansuman Satapathy, a rail enthusiast described repeated failures, saying the app remains stuck on a loading screen for minutes before showing tickets as unavailable. This affects ordinary passengers, he said.
Vishakh Kochiyil, a travel agent from Malappuram, said the app is user-friendly in design but bugs surface repeatedly during bookings.
“We are required to create a separate user ID instead of using the existing IRCTC account even though both are under the same parent organisation,” he said.
On tatkal bookings, he noted that the app often continues to show a loading screen even after payment is completed.
“By the time users realise something is wrong and go back, tickets may not get booked, leaving them in doubt,” he added.
Users have also pointed out that private railway apps provide more accurate real-time updates while the official app continues to lag. The situation has been compounded by the discontinuation of the UTS app from March 1, which earlier served as an alternative platform. While the app IRCTC Rail Connect remains operational, Railways sources indicate that services are being directed to RailOne.
Like the UTS app, RailOne too works with GPS. A passenger cannot book a ticket within Railways premises or upgrade the ticket to superfast trains. So, the passengers have to book unreserved tickets before arriving at the station.
The train delays shown on the Rail One app remains inaccurate. Passengers have to cross verify with unofficial apps, which are more accurate. For instance, on Thursday, when TNIE tried to check the status of Train No 20629 Sabari Superfast Express scheduled at 2.44pm, from Tiruvalla to Thiruvananthapuram Central, the delay was not reflected accurately. While the app showed a delay of just 15 minutes, the train was actually late by an hour.
Naveen Chander, a regular rail user, said, “I tried booking a ticket through RailOne, and when it failed, tried IRCTC. But the IRCTC website has made the tatkal ticket-booking experience more frustrating than ever. Issues such as slow page loading, automatic logging out issues, random glitches, error banners, and problems that extend even to the payment gateways, making the entire process unreliable and suspenseful up to the last moment the ticket gets generated.”
When contacted, a senior official with the passenger reservation system of Southern Railway said app development is handled by the Centre for Railway Information Systems.
“Complaints received are forwarded to them for necessary action,” the official said.
OFF THE TRACK?
The train delays shown on the Rail One app remain inaccurate. Passengers have to cross-verify with unofficial apps, which, users point out, provide more accurate real-time updates
