> their explanation does make some sense, that if IRCTC is super fast and efficient, then people with cash to spare/with computers and good internet access will hog all the tickets, denying people in rural areas a fair opportunity to purchase tickets.
If I understand correctly (and I might not) that sounds utterly absurd to me.
It sounds like you are saying "the official website is badly buggy and slow, but that's fair because some people in rural areas don't have good internet connections". I don't understand how a buggy and slow website helps those users! I would completely understand having a bug-free and fast website that reserved a certain proportion of the tickets for rural users or even for those with poor internet connections, but that doesn't sound like what you are describing.
> Wait times have gone down considerably on a lot of trains, you no longer have to plan your travel 6 months in advance, you can buy tatkal tickets without paying scalpers etc.
That certainly sounds good.