Indian Railways: Cancelling train ticket to cost you more from April 1

Indian Railways is catching up with airlines in terms of stricter ticket cancellation norms and refunds. The revised norms, which will kick in from April 1, increase the penalty window for last-minute cancellations of confirmed railways tickets.    

Under the new rules, passengers will lose more money on confirmed tickets cancellations closer to the journey date. According to the Indian Railways, this has been done to curb the misuse of the booking system and reduce ticket hoarding by touts.

This comes ahead of the busy summer schedule and will be implemented in phases from April 1 to 15. As a result, no refund will be issued eight hours before the train’s departure—it was four hours earlier. So, any last-minute cancellation will make you lose the entire ticket charges.  

A 50% refund will be given for tickets cancelled eight hours to 24 hours before the departure, up from four to twelve hours earlier. The fare deduction will be 25% for the cancellation between 24 hours and 72 hours from previous 12 hours and 48 hours. The maximum refund with a basic cancellation fee will be provided if ticket is cancelled 72 hours before departure compared to 48 hours under the existing norms.

Now, the travel class upgradation will be allowed up to 30 minutes before departure for passengers who bought counter tickets. Presently, passengers could upgrade travel class only before the train's first chart.

The first chart is released at least eight hours before the train's departure, and the second one between 15 and 30 minutes. Passengers can now upgrade their travel class 30 minutes before the train’s departure. This facility is available only for counter ticket holders; online ticket purchasers are not allowed class upgradation.