Customer Experience Towards Online Train Ticket Booking Services: An Empirical Study with Special Reference to The IRCTC App

Author

Saraswathy S, Dr. Y. Aysha Fathima, Dr. Alamelumangai Raman


Abstract

 Online platforms now handle most railway reservations in India, which makes the quality of the digital booking experience important for millions of passengers. This study examines customer experience with the IRCTC Rail Connect app across five dimensions: ease of use, app performance and reliability, payment and refund process, customer support and service quality, and overall experience. Primary data were collected from 206 IRCTC app users in Chennai through a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire, selected by convenience sampling. The data were analysed using percentage analysis, one-way ANOVA, simple linear regression and Pearson correlation. The results show that most respondents find the app easy to use (63.2%), consider payments secure (66.7%) and are satisfied overall (70.6% of valid responses). Age groups do not differ significantly in their perception of booking guidance (p = 0.794) or user-friendliness (p = 0.950). App performance during busy periods such as Tatkal booking significantly predicts intention to use the app again (R² = 0.28, p < 0.001), and timely refunds are strongly and positively correlated with overall satisfaction (r = 0.690, p < 0.001). However, half of the respondents (50.9%) are dissatisfied with peak-time performance and only 35.1% find it easy to contact customer support. The study suggests that IRCTC should prioritize peak-load stability, faster and more transparent refunds, and stronger grievance handling.



Keywords

customer experience, IRCTC, online train ticket booking, app performance, refund timeliness, customer satisfaction



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References


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