Cleartrip is expanding deeper into India’s travel market by adding train ticket bookings to its platform through a partnership with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. The move brings rail travel onto the company’s app alongside flights, hotels, buses and holiday packages, as it looks to position itself as a one-stop travel platform.

The launch taps into the sheer scale of India’s railway network, which handles about 23 million passengers every day and roughly 7 billion annually. For Cleartrip, the agenda is to plug into one of the country’s most used modes of transport.

“Train travel is a critical part of India’s mobility ecosystem, and this launch marks an important step towards realizing our vision of becoming a unified, multi-modal travel platform,” said Manjari Singhal, chief growth and business officer at Cleartrip. “With our partnership with IRCTC, we are focused on simplifying the booking experience and making it more accessible to millions of travellers.”

The integration allows users to search, book and manage train journeys within the app. It includes features such as real-time seat availability, fare insights, PNR status tracking and berth preferences. Bookings will cover general and Tatkal quotas, in line with railway guidelines, along with digital payment options.

Cleartrip is betting on both convenience and differentiation in a crowded online travel market. While several other travel platforms such as Ixigo and MakeMyTrip already offer train bookings, the company is positioning its product around a smoother user experience and deeper integration with its existing services.

“With over 800 million reserved passengers travelling by train every year, the opportunity isn’t just about scale; it’s about delivering a differentiated experience,” said Gaurav Patwari, chief business officer, air, Cleartrip. “By embedding seamless booking experience, predictive intelligence, and personalisation into the platform, we are ensuring that every step, from discovery to post-booking support, is fast, reliable, and stress-free.”

Online travel companies are increasingly looking beyond air travel to drive growth, especially in a price-sensitive market like India where trains remain the backbone of long-distance mobility. Adding rail also increases user stickiness, giving platforms more touchpoints across a traveller’s journey.

Cleartrip, acquired by Flipkart in 2021, has been scaling up its offerings in recent years. The company says it plans to roll out train bookings on its web platform soon, extending the service beyond mobile users.