It is that time of the year again when travellers throng the Indian Railways website to book tickets ahead of the festive season. And as always there is no let up in the level of frustration. The website continues to be slow and the number of failed transactions is climbing. However, this time around when visitors - who may have given up all hope to successfully book a ticket - log out in dismay, they are greeted with IRCTC's e-commerce page. The newly added service peddles everything from shoes to bags to electronics to furnishings. Only if IRCTC could provide a train ticket also sans the hassle. Time to focus on core competencies, maybe.
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