IRCTC Survey Flags Six Dark Patterns as 70% of Users Report Forced Logouts

A new consumer survey has put a spotlight on the everyday frustrations of booking train tickets in India, with more than two-thirds of IRCTC users reporting that they have been abruptly logged out of the platform mid-booking, one of six design practices flagged as potential "dark patterns" affecting the railway ticketing site.

The survey, conducted by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles, drew more than 90,000 responses from users across 324 districts and mapped their experiences against the dark-pattern categories notified by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). The findings point to a gap between the technical upgrades IRCTC has made to its platform and the everyday experience many travellers report while trying to book or cancel a ticket.

The most widely reported issue was forced action, cited by 70% of respondents, largely in connection with being logged out without explanation while attempting to complete a booking. Of those affected, 42% said it happened very frequently and another 28% said it happened sometimes, a pattern that can be especially costly for travellers racing against the clock to secure a seat during high-demand booking windows such as the opening of the reservation period for a popular train.

Beyond forced logouts, the survey flagged nagging as a widespread complaint, with 46% of users reporting repeated prompts or interruptions urging them to download the IRCTC app, share additional personal details or enable notifications while trying to book or cancel tickets. A further 45% reported what LocalCircles termed basket sneaking, describing instances where add-ons such as travel insurance, donations or other paid services were included in their booking without explicit consent.

The survey also highlighted concerns around pricing transparency and interface design. Some 43% of respondents said they had encountered hidden charges beyond applicable taxes during bookings or cancellations, a practice known as drip pricing where the full cost is not disclosed upfront. Another 38% reported a bait-and-switch experience, where the train, seat or ticket they ultimately received differed from what they had originally selected, while 31% said the booking interface itself had interrupted their session to present another product or service for purchase.

The findings arrive a little over a month after IRCTC rolled out a revamped version of its website in mid-July, which the platform said had increased booking and enquiry-handling capacity and added features such as a fare calendar, seat preference selection and support for Indian languages. LocalCircles, however, argued that improvements to technical performance and the presence of dark patterns are separate issues, noting that many of the concerns raised relate specifically to how charges, add-ons and prompts are presented to users during the booking journey rather than to the platform's underlying speed or reliability.

LocalCircles said it plans to formally submit its findings to the Ministry of Railways, IRCTC and the CCPA, along with a set of recommendations. These include commissioning an independent third-party audit of the IRCTC website and app for dark patterns, defaulting optional add-ons such as travel insurance to "No" rather than pre-selecting them, and ensuring the full payable amount is displayed upfront without advertising interruptions during the booking process.

For India's enormous base of train travellers, many of whom rely on IRCTC as the sole official channel for reservations, the survey adds to a broader conversation around digital consumer protection as regulators increasingly scrutinise how e-commerce and ticketing platforms design their user interfaces. Whether the recommendations translate into concrete changes on the platform will likely depend on how the Ministry of Railways and IRCTC respond in the coming weeks.

This article is an original editorial summary based on publicly reported information. It has been independently written for publication and does not reproduce content from any single source.