IRCTC Down: Indian Railways Ticket Booking Website and App Show ‘Service Unavailable’ Error

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) online ticket booking website and mobile application are facing a major outage on Friday, October 17 and an official response is awaited. The website shows error'503 Service Unavailable' 

According to the outrage tracking website Downdetector, over 5,000 users have reported the issue at around 10.57 am on Friday, with 53% complaining about the website and 34% about the application, while 13% users reported they face problems while booking tickets. This is not the first time IRCTC has experienced an outage. In August 2025 the website experienced a similar outage, causing thousands of people to have trouble booking train tickets and it crashed three times in December 2024. This time too, the service went offline a day before Dhanteras, coinciding with the start of Tatkal booking.

Upon opening the IRCTC website, users are greeted with a message that reads: "Service Unavailable. This server is temporarily unable to service requests. Error code: 119."

IRCTC servers are powered by Indian Railways’ WiFi - that explains everything#IRCTC#downpic.twitter.com/LgIMmKqHFR

— Gaurav Patel (@GauravPatel__01) October 17, 2025

Some users show a message that reads: "Downtime Message: Booking and cancellation services are not available on this site for the next hour. Sorry for the inconvenience. To file a cancellation or TDR, please call customer care numbers 14646, 08044647999, or 08035734999, or email etickets@irctc.co.in."

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An X user wrote that on every Tatkal ticket booking day, the Indian Railways website collapses. He said the common suffered due to this outage, while booking agents make a huge profit out of it. 

🚨 IRCTC – Digital India’s Biggest Joke! 🚨

Every Tatkal or Premium Tatkal booking day, the IRCTC server collapses like it’s running on 2G. Common passengers get nothing, while agents & booking mafias grab all tickets in seconds. 🤯

How long will this daylight loot continue…

— Dieheart ❣️ (@Shekhar41168801) October 17, 2025

"How long will this daylight loot continue under the nose of the Railway Ministry? Instead of improving transparency, the system is built to frustrate citizens. Shame that in 2025, India’s largest railway network can’t manage a simple online booking!," a user wrote further.

Every year, same story: IRCTC fails again during Diwali tatkal bookings
Booking timings 10:00 AM
Till 10:07 AM: Site unreachable
By the time it opens, tickets gone
For a platform that knows festive rush is coming, how does this still happen? #IRCTC#Tatkal#DiwaliTravel#Diwalipic.twitter.com/DNOdA9qbzf

— Mahua Dwivedi (@MahuaDwivedi) October 17, 2025

Another X user, while sharing screen grabs and video, claimed that every year in Diwali the IRCTC website goes down. "Booking timings 10:00 AM. Till 10:07 AM: Site unreachable. By the time it opens, tickets gone For a platform that knows festive rush is coming, how does this still happen?," she wrote on X.