NEW DELHI, Mar 25: The government on Wednesday announced a revised railway ticket cancellation system under which no refund would be given if any ticket was cancelled less than eight hours before the departure of the train.
The Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announcing the new system said the changes introduced under the “Reform Express” initiative were aimed at curbing misuse of the ticketing system and improving access for genuine passengers.
He said the ticket cancellation time windows of 48, 12 and 4 hours before departure have been revised to 72, 24 and 8 hours. Under the new system, passengers cancelling tickets more than 72 hours before the departure of the train will receive the maximum refund, with only a flat cancellation charge per passenger levied. For cancellations made between 72 hours and 24 hours before departure, 25% of the fare will be deducted, subject to the minimum charge.
The penalty would be more if a ticket was cancelled between 24 hours and 8 hours before departure, 50% of the fare will be deducted, subject to the minimum charge. No refund will be permitted for cancellations made less than eight hours before departure.
Mr Vaishnaw said ticket black marketing and misuse of the Tatkal scheme had been a long-standing concern. To address this, the Railways has deployed technology to detect bots and fraudulent software. Further technological interventions have also been introduced to restrict the ability of agents and touts to book tickets immediately after the Tatkal booking window opens, along with Aadhaar-based OTP verification.
A detailed data analysis led to the identification and removal of nearly three crore fake accounts from the IRCTC system. This has resulted in a significant improvement in ticket availability, he said.
The change in the ticket cancellation time window align with the advance preparation of reservation charts, which will now be done 9 to 18 hours before departure instead of the earlier four hours. The revised system will not involve any additional cost to passengers.
Advance preparation of reservation charts is expected to improve passenger convenience by reducing uncertainty, enabling better planning for waitlisted passengers and supporting travellers from remote locations. Early charting also allows for alternative travel arrangements, optimises the use of vacant berths and enhances transparency. The changes are aimed at discouraging last-minute speculative bookings and ensuring tickets are available to genuine passengers.
The Minister also announced that counter tickets will soon be permitted to be cancelled at any railway station across the country, removing the earlier restriction that required cancellation only at the originating station.
He said the requirement of filing a Ticket Deposit Receipt for e-tickets has been done away with, and refunds will now be processed automatically upon cancellation. In another passenger-friendly measure, passengers will be allowed to upgrade their travel class up to 30 minutes before departure, whereas earlier such changes were permitted only before the preparation of the reservation chart. Mr Vaishnaw said the reforms were expected to further improve transparency, reduce misuse and enhance the overall passenger experience in railway ticketing.
In another reform, the minister said passengers would be allowed to change their boarding station digitally up to 30 minutes before the departure of the train from its originating station. He noted that earlier, passengers could modify the boarding point only before the preparation of the reservation chart. Under the revised provision, passengers who are unable to board the train from the original station can select the next convenient station and board the train without losing their confirmed seat.
(Manas Dasgupta)
