Railways tightens rules for passengers: No refund on tickets cancelled less than 8 hours before departure

In a major overhaul of its ticketing and refund policy, the Indian Railways has announced significant changes aimed at preventing large-scale ticket black marketing. Under the revised rules, passengers who cancel their reserved tickets less than eight hours before the scheduled departure will no longer receive any refund. For cancellations made between 24 hours and 8 hours before departure, passengers will be eligible for a 50 per cent refund. If the cancellation is done between 72 hours and 24 hours prior to the journey, a 75 per cent refund will be provided. Earlier, passengers received a full refund even when cancelling up to 72 hours before the journey.

Here are the revised ticket cancellation rules:

• For confirmed tickets cancelled more than 72 hours before departure, passengers will receive the maximum possible refund with only the minimum flat cancellation fee per passenger deducted.
• If a confirmed ticket is cancelled between 72 hours and 24 hours before departure, a standard deduction of 25 per cent of the fare will apply.
• For cancellations made between 24 hours and 8 hours before the scheduled departure, 50 percent of the fare will be deducted, subject to the minimum charge.
• If a confirmed ticket is cancelled less than 8 hours before the train’s departure, no refund will be issued.

Offline cancellation allowed from any station

The Railways has eased the cancellation process for offline ticket holders. Passengers can now cancel their tickets from any railway station, irrespective of the station from where the ticket was originally booked. Additionally, passengers can board the train from a station located after the departure station mentioned on the ticket. The mobile application will now offer an option for passengers to update their boarding point easily.

Options to upgrade coach before travel

In another passenger-friendly decision, the Railways has introduced the option to upgrade the allotted coach before departure. Commuters will be allowed to update their coach category up to 30 minutes before the scheduled train departure. This means passengers travelling in a lower class, such as Third AC, will have the option to move to a higher class like First AC if seats are available. The update can be done through the Railways’ official mobile application.