Now book rail tickets on MakeMyTrip

Kolkata, June 24 : MakeMyTrip.com has taken another step to address the needs of the Indian traveler and has added rail bookings to its expansive portfolio of online services, making it the only OTA with the widest array of offerings for customers in India, said a company release.

The website is now a one-stop shop for travellers, fulfilling a range of travel needs from air tickets, bus tickets, hotels, holidays and now train tickets online.

Rail bookings on MakeMyTrip started on June 22 with several first-time ever features for easy booking like book return trips in one go with a single payment transaction, checking availability across multiple classes, dates and trains with a single click, requesting alerts when availability becomes low, get automatic updates on PNR status of a waitlisted ticket, and get reminded before tatkal reservation begins.

Sachin Bhatia, Co-Founder, MakeMyTrip said, 'The new Rail booking engine has been developed basis an extensive usability test and interactions with customers. This is the first time in India that customers can book return trips for train tickets, which we believe is a key differentiator in terms of features. With this MakeMyTrip becomes the first travel company to offer complete travel solutions. Rail travelers can look forward to exciting offers and good times ahead.'

Online rail booking grew by 100% last year. 25% of rail tickets (about 2 lakhs a day) are booked online now. IRCTC reportedly did 19 million transactions in 07-08 and 38.7 million (estimated 75 million passengers) in 08-09. Of the latter 5.3 million transactions (sales $100 million) were conducted in March 09 alone.

Growing impressively, the online travel industry in India is estimated to be worth US$ 6 billion by 2010.

The travel boom, emergence of low cost carriers, proliferation of the internet and the growing acceptance of e-commerce over the last few years, are key factors that have contributed the emergence of this sector as a formidable force in the overall travel industry.

According to industry estimates, it is expected to corner around 23% share of the total travel market by 2010. Make My Trip.com was the first online travel agency in India, and is the current market leader.