Difference Between IRCTC and RailOne App

India has a very large railway network, and in every area, its service has been provided to every passenger. As per the PIB, currently, Indian Railways operates more than 13,000 passenger trains, including 4,111 mail and express trains, 3,313 passenger trains, and 5,774 suburban trains. 

For booking, you have two options: Either you can book the ticket offline at the reservation counter, or you can book your ticket online. 

Earlier, Indian Railways provided the IRCTC app to book your ticket online. But recently, Indian Railways has launched a new app called RailOne.

Many passengers are confused. What is the difference between IRCTC and the RailOne app? Both apps are used for ticket booking, so which one is easier to use? So, let's explore this article and understand it in detail.

What Is the IRCTC App?

The IRCTC Rail Connect app has been available for many years. It was launched officially by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which works under the Ministry of Railways.

You can use the IRCTC app to:

1. Book reserved train tickets (Sleeper, AC classes)

Book Tatkal tickets

Check PNR status

Cancel tickets and get refunds

Order food on the train

IRCTC is trusted by crores of passengers and is the most widely used railway app in India today.

What Is the RailOne App?

The RailOne app was launched on July 1, 2025, by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. It was developed by the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), which is an organisation under the Ministry of Railways.

RailOne is called the "Super App" of Indian Railways because it brings many services together in one place. Earlier, passengers had to use different apps like IRCTC, UTS, NTES, Rail Madad, and Food on Track. Now, all these services are available inside RailOne.

By March 2026, this app had already reached 2.57 crore downloads, and on average, 7.64 lakh tickets were being booked through it every single day.

Source: AI Generated

Difference Between IRCTC and RailOne App

Here in the table, the difference between IRCTC and RailOne App is given in detail. Check here:

Key Differences Explained 

Let’s understand its differences in a very easy way so that you can easily identify and know which one you should use and why. Here are its details:

1. IRCTC Is Only for Reserved Tickets

The biggest difference is that IRCTC only allows reserved ticket booking. If you want to book a general or unreserved ticket, the IRCTC app cannot help you.

But with RailOne, you can book reserved, unreserved, and platform tickets from a single app only. Due to this, RailOne has become one of the most popular and useful for many passengers.

2. RailOne Replaces Multiple Apps

There are many services available for the passenger travelling in the train, and for all such services, there are different apps for different uses, like:

• The IRCTS app was used for booking online reservations
• The UTS app was used for booking an unreserved ticket
• For train tracking, the NTES app was used
• For the complaint, the Rail Madad app was used
• For ordering food, the Food on Track App was used

But after the launch of the RailOne app, this made it easy to have all services in a single app. 

In fact, the UTS Mobile App was officially discontinued on March 1, 2026, and RailOne is now the only app for unreserved ticket booking.

3. Speed and Booking Capacity

The RailOne app is built on a new and faster system. The new RailOne app is designed to be faster in comparison to IRCTC during peak hours, especially during Tatkal booking time. RailOne handles high traffic much better.

4. Login Is Easier on RailOne

On RailOne, you do not need to create a new account. You can simply log in using your existing IRCTC or UTS username and password. 

5. Discount on Unreserved Tickets

RailOne gives a 3% discount using R-Wallet on unreserved tickets when you pay through the R-Wallet. This is a benefit you will not find on the IRCTC app.

Which App Should You Use?

Use IRCTC if:

• You mainly book reserved or Tatkal tickets via online

• If you are already using the IRCTC app in your comfortable zone, you can use it for its convenient user interface.

• If you do not require any other services, you can go with this app

Use RailOne if:

• If you want  all railway services in one app, then RailOne is for you

• If you travel daily and need unreserved or platform tickets, you can use this app because these services are not included in the IRCTC app. 

• If you want live train tracking, complaints, food, and refunds, you can use this app.

In 2026, you can use both apps as options. But, among these two apps, you can use them as per your convenience, what types of services you need, or how many services you are looking for, and use multiple apps.

So, what you all can do is very simple: if you are all familiar with the IRCTC interface, and only booking Sleeper class or AC class, you can go with the IRCTC app, but if you want multiple services along with booking your reservation, like tracking, complaints, live running, or PNR status, you can go with the RailOne app

So, now you all know, what is the difference between IRCTC and the RailOne app? No doubt, IRCTC is a good, trusted app for booking railway tickets via online, but it has many bugs during Tatkal booking time; either it slows down its server or gets an error in payment. But this new RailOne has been very flexible and easy to use. 

It can have multiple platforms on a single app, whether you want normal booking, Tatkal booking, or unreserved tickets. This app is the best, and while booking a Tatkal ticket from this app, passengers can get their ticket without facing any server or payment errors.