Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp.

Name

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp.

Legal name

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.

Website

https://irctc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Railway Catering and Tourism Services

NAICS

Travel Agencies (561510)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Air Transportation, Scheduled (4512)

akta.pro primary industry

Account-Based Ticketing (ABT) Platforms (THAIAMAA)

Keywords

• Online railway ticketing
• Rail catering services
• Luxury tourist trains
• Packaged drinking water
• Travel and tourism services

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices36 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Internet Ticketing: Government-authorized monopoly for online railway ticketing. Revenue comes from convenience fees charged on ticket bookings. FY 2024-25 saw 5,065 lakh tickets booked, with Indian Railways recording ₹70,215 crore in total ticket fare collection.
2. Catering & Hospitality: One of the largest hospitality and catering companies in India with vast gamut of businesses spread over passenger trains, railway stations, and station premises. Includes mobile catering (460+ trains), static catering (Food Plazas, Fast Food Units, Refreshment Rooms), and e-catering services.
3. Travel & Tourism: Operates luxury tourist trains (Maharajas' Express, Golden Chariot, Bharat Gaurav trains), rail tour packages (70+ packages), hotels, air ticketing, bus ticketing, and cruise bookings. Ranges from Rs. 900 per day to USD 900 per day.
4. Packaged Drinking Water (Rail Neer): 19 operational Rail Neer Plants producing packaged drinking water. Cumulative production capacity of 18.40 lakh bottles per day. Plants operate in PPP mode in various locations across India.
5. Advertising Revenue: Push notification services and digital marketing campaigns generate advertising revenue. Achieved highest-ever one-day Google Ad Manager revenue of more than Rs. 14 lakhs on October 27, 2024.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IRCTC operates India's government-authorized online railway ticketing platform (Next Generation e-Ticketing) processing over 5,065 lakh tickets annually. It also delivers onboard and station-based catering services across 460+ trains and 300+ stations, operates luxury and pilgrimage tourist trains (Maharajas' Express, Golden Chariot, Bharat Gaurav), and manufactures packaged drinking water under the Rail Neer brand through 19 production plants.

Product overview

IRCTC operates as a multi-service digital platform offering a unified portfolio of rail ticketing, catering, tourism, and packaged water products. The core platform is the Next Generation e-Ticketing (NGeT) system accessible via www.irctc.co.in website and IRCTC Rail Connect Mobile App, which handles over 86% of reserved railway ticket bookings in India. This core platform is augmented by the e-Catering (Food on Track) service for onboard meal ordering, the IRCTC Payments subsidiary for payment aggregation, and the IRCTC Tourism Mobile App for travel packages. The catering vertical includes mobile services on 460+ trains and 144 Food Plazas, 160 Fast Food Units, and 11 Base Kitchens. Tourism offerings encompass luxury trains (Maharajas' Express, Golden Chariot), theme-based Bharat Gaurav trains, Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train, and over 70 Rail Tour Packages. The Rail Neer packaged drinking water business operates 19 production plants with 18.40 lakh bottles per day capacity. Air ticketing, bus ticketing, and cruise bookings extend the platform into multi-modal travel. A new RailOne app consolidates these services with legacy railway information systems into a single unified interface.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Maharajas' Express: Luxury tourist train voted as the Leading Luxury Train of the World for 7 years in a row (2012-2018) by World Travel Awards
• Bharat Gaurav Train
• Golden Chariot
• Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train
• Tejas Express
• Rail Neer

Products and services

• Internet Ticketing (Next Generation e-Ticketing)
• IRCTC Rail Connect Mobile App

Quantifiable outcome

• 30,155 tickets booked in a single minute - record per-minute booking capacity
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Sri Sai EnterprisesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 25 June 2026Sri Sai Enterprises operates the new Food Plaza inaugurated at platform no. 1 of Visakhapatnam Railway Station under contract awarded by IRCTC.
• CleartripcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 27 April 2026Cleartrip launched train ticket booking services in partnership with IRCTC, targeting single-digit market share in India's online train ticketing segment. The platform offers booking across all Indian rail routes including General and Tatkal quotas with features such as real-time seat availability, fare insights, PNR tracking, and digital payments.
• Mayfair Spring Valley ResortminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 17 January 2026Mayfair Spring Valley Resort, an Assam-based luxury hospitality brand, secured the catering contract for India's first Vande Bharat Sleeper Train through partnership with IRCTC. This is a first for a Northeast-based hospitality firm.
• IRCTC Payments LimitedcoreOthers · 10 February 2024Wholly-owned subsidiary incorporated on 10-02-2024 for payment aggregator business. Authorized Share Capital: INR 25 Crores, Paid-up Share Capital: INR 25 Crores. Received in-principle approval from RBI to become payment aggregator.
• Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL)coreOthersIRCTC tied up with major oil marketing companies for priority LPG supply under government directives due to supply disruptions caused by shipping disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.
• RBL BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRBL Bank Cobrand Credit Card integrated under IRCTC Loyalty Program on IRCTC website w.e.f. 14.09.2024 and on IRCTC Mobile App w.e.f. 01.02.2025.
• SBI (State Bank of India)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerIRCTC SBI Loyalty Programme enhanced by integrating SBI Rupay Premium Credit Card, on website effective from 01.10.2024.
• Bank of BarodaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital marketing campaign started with Bank of Baroda for digital promotion and lead generation on 10-Oct-2023.
• HDFC BankminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDigital marketing campaign with HDFC Bank started on 16-Nov-2023 for promotion and lead generation.
• Urban Pod Pvt LtdminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUrban Pod collaborated with IRCTC to launch pod concept rooms at Mumbai Central railway station, representing a significant development in India's rail hospitality sector.
• Royal Sundaram General InsuranceminorOthersM/s Royal Sundaram General Insurance enrolled to provide travel insurance services to E-ticket passengers. Insurance premium rate revised from Rs 0.35 to 0.45 w.e.f. 17-02-2024.
• Araha Hospitality Pvt LtdminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCatering firm contracted to prepare meals for Rajdhani Express trains from its licensed base kitchen at Surat. IRCTC imposed Rs 1 lakh penalty and show-cause notice for quality issues.
• Cafe Air Caterers and Flight Services (CAFS)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCAFS serves meals on board Kerala Vande Bharat Express trains. Introduced new regional menu with Malabar chicken curry, biryani, and local South Indian flavors.

Scale indicators32 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Thomas Cook (India): Long-standing Indian travel company operating outbound and domestic tour packages, forex, and corporate travel. Comparable to IRCTC's tourism packages, Maharajas' Express premium offerings, and Bharat Gaurav pilgrimage circuits.
• MakeMyTrip: India's largest online travel agency covering flights, hotels, holiday packages, and rail (via the IRCTC partnership). Comparable to IRCTC's tourism, air ticketing, and hotel/holiday packages verticals, even though IRCTC retains a regulatory monopoly in rail ticketing.
• Cleartrip: Indian OTA that partnered with IRCTC for train ticketing and offers flights, hotels, and holidays. A channel partner for IRCTC rail bookings, yet a horizontal OTA competitor on flights, hotels, and packages.
• ixigo (Le Travenues Technology): Indian OTA and meta-search platform offering flights, trains, buses, and hotels. Overlaps with IRCTC's air ticketing portal, bus booking, and rail-adjacent content, and competes for the same India leisure-travel wallet.
• SOTC Travel: Indian tour operator running leisure, pilgrimage, and corporate travel packages including rail-themed itineraries. Direct competitor in the same domestic holiday and pilgrimage package market as IRCTC's Bharat Gaurav and Rail Tour products.
• Yatra Online: Listed Indian OTA covering flights, hotels, holidays, and corporate travel. Comparable to IRCTC's tourism packages and air ticketing portal on customer base and tech platform.

Broad incumbents

• Booking Holdings (Booking.com / Priceline): Global OTA conglomerate also the parent of MakeMyTrip. Comparable to IRCTC's online travel distribution at scale, though not focused on rail or India-specific government-monopolized categories.
• Trip.com Group: Global OTA with strong Asia presence (Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner). Comparable to IRCTC's tourism and air ticketing verticals through scale of multi-modal travel distribution.
• Expedia Group: Global online travel conglomerate operating multiple brands (Expedia, Hotels.com, Vrbo). Comparable to IRCTC's multi-product travel platform model at much broader global scale.

Emerging players

• RailRestro: Third-party e-catering aggregator delivering meals on Indian trains via partner restaurants. Direct competitor to IRCTC's e-Catering (Food on Track) vertical across the same 300-station and onboard meal ordering market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights8 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/irctc_ltd
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/IRCTCOFFICIAL
• Facebookfacebook.com/IRCTCofficial
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/irctcofficial
• Instagraminstagram.com/irctc.official

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp.