Testing IRCTC-Style Railway Booking Automation with Playwright

Region Focus: This guide includes examples specifically relevant to India-based applications.

Automate train search, seat class selection, passenger form validation, and payment flows for Indian railway ticketing applications. This guide provides step-by-step Playwright patterns to handle this scenario reliably.

Introduction

Robust automation requires handling domain-specific patterns effectively. This article covers testing irctc-style railway booking automation with playwright with production-ready Playwright code.

Architecture Overview

graph TD
    Search["Train Search"] --> PNR["PNR Query"]
    PNR --> Quota["Quota Check"]
    Quota --> Book["Book Ticket"]
    Book --> Payment["IRCTC Payment"]

Implementation Guide

test('Train search returns results for India routes', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/trains/search');
  await page.getByLabel('From Station').fill('NDLS');
  await page.getByLabel('To Station').fill('MMCT');
  await page.getByLabel('Journey Date').fill('15/08/2026');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Find Trains' }).click();
  await expect(page.getByTestId('train-list')).toBeVisible();
  await expect(page.getByTestId('train-item')).toHaveCount({ minimum: 1 });
});

Run Your Tests

npx playwright test --grep "Testing IRCTC-Style Railway"
npx playwright test --ui

Reference Table

Best Practices

Common Mistakes

Frequently Asked Questions

How to test CAPTCHA in booking flows?

Mock the CAPTCHA validation endpoint to always return success in test environments.

How to test Tatkal quota booking?

Mock train availability to show Tatkal quota and verify the price calculation.

Can Playwright test PNR status check?

Yes, navigate to PNR status page, input a mock PNR, and verify status display.

How to test waitlisted ticket flows?

Mock availability to return WL status and verify the waitlist position display.

How to test Indian railway date format validation?

Test DD/MM/YYYY format and verify invalid dates like 32/13/2026 are rejected.

Summary

Automate train search, seat class selection, passenger form validation, and payment flows for Indian railway ticketing applications. Apply these patterns to build a reliable, maintainable automation suite for your specific use case.

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