Why is public transportation in India so inefficient?

Public Transportation: How does railway reservation in your country work? What is equivalent of irctc (India) in your country?

• I am more concerned about http://www.irctc.co.in I want to know if there is some other site in some other country which gives better performance than irctc  with nearly same average and peak load.

• Answer:

  USA doesn't have publicly funded extensive rail network like India. Trains are privatized and run on very sparse network and are typically expensive than renting a car and sometime even flight. People who use train do due to enjoying the ride/experience or no other alternative. [limited experience disclaimer] Given low demand and low usage, online booking is easy and there is not much hassle. Of course, developed nation standards apply to quality of train, speed, stations; courtesy of staff, attendants; comfort of ride, etc. There is no direct comparison between IRCTC and Amtrak.