IRCTC Ticket Cancellation Rules

Railway E-Tickets Cancellation Rules

There are different methods for cancellation of online Train Tickets. Following are the details regarding Rules and Procedure for Cancellation of Online Tickets.

• Procedure for Cancellation of Online Tickets
  • E – Ticket Cancellation Procedure
  • I – Ticket Cancellation Procedure
  • Provision of linking of PNRs for two connecting Journeys and cancellation of such tickets and refund of fare rules in case of misconnection of trains
  • Covid 19 : Cancellation of e-ticket
• Cancellation of Counter Tickets Procedure
• Procedure for Refund/Cancellation of PRS and UTS Tickets Booked Through POS Machine
• Ticket Cancellation Charges
• FAQs

• Covid 19 : Cancellation of E-Tickets
• Covid 19 : Refund Rule Relaxed By Railway

Ticket Booking/cancellation Hours: 00.20 HRS to 23.45 HRS

CANCELLATION OF ONLINE TICKETS PROCEDURE

Procedure for cancelling Online tickets are following.

✅ E – Ticket Cancellation Procedure

e-tickets : –  This ticket shall be cancelled through internet and the refund of fare shall be credited to the account from which booking transaction took place, after deducting the applicable charges. In case of e-tickets shall be cancelled online or online TDR shall be filed within the time limits prescribed under these rules for obtaining refund. All refund will be processed as per Extant Railway Refund Rules

• Ticket Booking via Railway Reservation Counter

To Cancel the IRCTC Online train tickets you have to log on the www.irctc.co.in website. Then go to the Menu My Transaction – Booked History . Type the Password of your IRCTC login to view the complete IRCTC Train Tickets history. Select the Ticket you wish to cancel and then Go For Cancellation button as specified on the picture.

• Cancellation before Charting
• Cancellation After Charting
• RAC Ticket Cancellation
• Cancellation of Trains
• For Agents
• For Tatkal Tickets Booked as e-Tickets
• Cancellation of e-tickets in case of trains cancelled

• Cancellation Before Charting
  • Cancellation is only via Irctc website. Person has to fill Online TDR, then IRCTC will process the refund electronically and credit the amount in same account which was used at the time of booking of tickets.
• Cancellation After Charting
  • For Confirmed Tickets:-
    • Confirmed tickets can only be cancelled/TDR may be filled online upto 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train for refund of fare as per Refund Rule.
  • Fully Wait Listed Tickets:-
    • Fully waitlisted tickets PNRs are dropped from the reservation charts at the time of preparation of Final Train Charts and refund is credited to customer account automatically.
    • Such passengers are not required to send online request for cancellation. IRCTC will cancel such tickets after due verification and process refund electronically. Such passengers, if found travelling, will be treated as unauthorized and charged accordingly.
  • Part confirm/RAC/Waiting List
    • If on one PNR there is more than one passenger and at least one passenger is having confirmed/RAC status and rests are on waiting list, names of all the passengers booked on such PNR will appear in the chart.
    • A certificate can be obtained from the TTE regarding non-travelling of wait listed passengers on such tickets and refund can be obtained thereafter by sending online TDR request.
    • If such passengers do not want to travel before chart preparation, online cancellation TDR may be filled as the case may be.
• RAC Ticket Cancellation
  • RAC tickets can be cancelled/TDR filed online upto half and hour before the scheduled departure of the train
• Cancellation of Trains
  • Automatic refund of fare is granted in case of cancellation of trains. Cancellation/TDR filling is not required. Passenger can make enquiry about the train status via SMS and IVRS services on “139-Rail Sampark”.

TDR Rules in Indian Railway

• For Agents :- E-ticket cannot be cancelled after chart preparation. Whenever Agents received such a request from their customers they are required to send a mail to etickets@irctc.co.in containing following details.
  • PNR No.
  • Transaction ID :
  • Train No.
  • From:
  • To:
  • Date of journey:
  • S.No.
  • PASSENGER NAME
  • AGE
  • SEX
  • Reasons for Filing TDR
  • IRCTC will file TDR and forward the claim to Concerned Railways to process the refund and money of refund amount will be credited back to Agents account through which payment was made after receiving the same from the concerned Railways. For any other clarifications please mail to etickets@irctc.co.in”
• For Tatkal Tickets Booked as e-Tickets:
  • No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets. For contingent cancellation and waitlisted Tatkal ticket cancellations, charges will be deducted as per existing Railway rules. Partial cancellation of Tatkal e-tickets is allowed.
• Cancellation of e-tickets in case of trains cancelled:
  • If the train is marked as “CANCELLED” in PRS due to breaches, floods, accidents etc. full refund is permissible in case the ticket is cancelled within three days of the scheduled departure of the train. In case of e-tickets, such cancellations can be done by the customer through Internet.

E-Ticket Cancellation : Other Rules

1. E-Ticket can be cancelled online till preparation of charts and refund will be granted by PRS system as per extant Railway Refund Rules.
2. After preparation of charts, the user shall have to file online TDR for claiming refund. The refund case will be decided by Railways. The TDR can be filed by the same user who books the ticket. After receipt of the refund amount from Railway, it shall be credited in the same account through which booking was made through opted payment gateway.
3. No refund shall be granted on partially confirmed E-Ticket against which none of the passengers has travelled, if TDR is filed after 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
4. No refund shall be granted on Partial RAC/WAITLISTED TICKET against which none of the passengers has travelled, if TDR is filed after 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
5. No refund will be granted in case of train running more than three hours late if TDR is filled with this reason after actual departure of the train.
6. In case of party e-ticket or family e-ticket issued for travel of more than one passenger, some passengers have confirmed reservation and others are on the  list of RAC or waiting list, then in case of passengers or RAC or waiting list not travelling, a certificate shall be obtained from the ticket checking staff to that effect and refund of fare shall be processed online through TDR, indicating the details of the certificate issued by ticket checking staff and the online TDR shall be filed upto seventy two hours of actual arrival of the train at passengers’ destination and the original certificate issued by ticket checking staff shall be sent through post to Group General Manager/IT, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd., Internet Ticketing Centre, IRCA Building, State Entry Road, New Delhi – 110055.
7. The cases in which TDR are filed are decided by the Zonal Railway under whose jurisdiction the train destination falls. After receipt of the refund amount from the said Railway, refund amount will be credited back to same account through which payment was made through opted payment Gateway.
8. If customer is not able to cancel through web interface before Chart Preparation, customers are requested to send an email from the email ID to etickets@irctc.co.in from their registered e-mail id with IRCTC.

✅ I – Ticket Cancellation Procedure

i-tickets : –  This ticket shall be cancelled at the reservation counter and thereafter on online application, due shall be credited to the account from which booking transaction took place. The ticket is sent through courier to the delivery address specified. This is the same as the ticket you get when you buy from a railway booking counter. You have to queue up at a railway booking counter and produce the ticket and the booking clerk cancels it for you. You have to buy an i – Ticket at least 3 days before the journey date. This time is required because the ticket is physically delivered to the customer’s address.

Cancellation of I-Tickets can be done at any computerised reservation counter across the country and a cancellation ticket obtained. NO CASH REFUND will be given. Service Charge is also not refundable. The refund amount will be credited to the respective credit card account electronically, the following day of cancellation. Refund of fare shall be made after deduction of cancellation charge of the fare.

Cancellation of tickets after departure of trains:

1. I-Tickets can also be cancelled in the above manner, at the boarding station, within 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges will be 50% of the fare subject to the minimum flat rate mentioned in the above clause.
2. To cancel tickets after the above period: Surrender the I-Ticket with the Station Master and obtain a Ticket Deposit Receipt. Prefer your claim for refund to the following address attaching the original copy of the Ticket Deposit Receipt:

General Manager (Operations), General Manager (Operations),
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.
1st Floor, Internet Ticketing Centre
IRCA Building, State Entry Road,
New Delhi – 110055

• IRCTC will process the refund claim with the Railway Administration and refund granted by the Railway shall be credited to your credit card account.
• Refund claims under above clause may require at least 90 days or more for processing.

Cancellation of I-tickets in case of trains cancelled:

1. I-Ticket can be cancelled up to 72 hrs after the scheduled departure of train at any computerised reservation counter.

I-Ticket Cancellation : Other Rules

1. The tickets cannot be cancelled online.
2. In case no facility of cancellation of RAC ticket or wait-listed ticket is available at the station originating the journey for night trains leaving between 21.00 hours and 06.00 hrs (actual departure), the refund of fare shall be admissible at the station within first 2 hrs after the opening of reservation office.
3. In remote and hilly area as identified by the Zonal Railways, with the prior approval of the General Manager and printed in the time table, for night trains leaving between 19.00 hrs and 06.00 hrs (actual departure), the refund shall be admissible at the station within first 2 hrs after the opening of reservation or booking office, in case there is no reservation counters or booking office or current counters available in that area.
4. There will be no refund in cash at the PRS counter. IRCTC will credit the refund amount in the same account through which booking was made through opted payment gateway.
5. In case TDR has to be obtained for claiming refund, it will be obtained from the Railway Station. 
6. The cases in which TDR are filed are decided by the Zonal Railway under whose jurisdiction the TDR is issued. After receipt of the refund amount from the said Railway, refund amount will be credited back to same account through which payment was made through opted payment Gateway

Provision of linking of PNRs for two connecting Journeys and cancellation of such tickets and refund of fare rules in case of misconnection of trains

Covid 19 : Cancellation of e-ticket

Refund of e-ticket on cancellation of trains shall be processed automatically. Cancellation is not required at user end.

• Coronavirus : Railways Arrangements

CANCELLATION OF COUNTER TICKETS PROCEDURE

Passenger can cancel the counter tickets via IRCTC website, Railway Enquiry 139, or directly to PRS counter. Counter Ticket Cancellation Procedure online

Counter Ticket Cancellation via PRS Counters

• Go to the Train Ticket Reservation Counter
• Fill the Reservation/Cancellation form
• Submit the Reservation/Cancellation form along with original ticket in the counter
• Counter staff will do the cancellation and will give the refund

PROCEDURE FOR REFUND/CANCELLATION OF PRS and UTS TICKETS BOOKED THROUGH POS MACHINE

Indian Railway announced through a press release that with a view to facilitate convenient booking of reserved and unreserved tickets by passengers through cashless modes of payment viz. Credit/Debit cards even at the ticket booking counters, it has been decided to install 10,000 POS (Point of Sale) (Swipe) machines at the PRS (Passenger Reservation System) and UTS counters (including Suburban stations).

Following procedure is proposed with regard to cancellation of the tickets booked through POS machines.

Cancellation cum refund procedure for UTS/PRS tickets booked using SBI POS for payment:

Refund of PRS/UTS tickets shall be done using the offline process as detailed below:

• The offline process of refund shall be followed in case of tickets booked using SBI POS for payment which means that the refund amount shall be credited to the account of card holder without any need to swipe his card at the time of cancellation at the counter.
• The customer can approach to any counter anywhere for cancellation of ticket booked from SBI POS. Needless to mention that PRS ticket can be cancelled only at any PRS/PRS cum UTS counter and UTS ticket shall be cancelled only at any UTS/PRS cum UTS counter.
• The print of cancelled PRS ticket would have a message indicating that “Electronic Refund” for the information of the customer. The customer may also be informed verbally or through information board that the refund shall be credited to the account of card holder within 7 days.

IRCTC customer care dealing with the refund issues of e-tickets 

This is entrusted with the responsibility to address refund related complaints of tickets issued using POS. IRCTC shall coordinate with SBI, CRIS and concerned Zonal Railways to monitor the processing of refunds on daily basis and to resolve the issues/complaints in expeditious manner.

Cancellation cum refund procedure for PRS tickets issued from POS of other banks.

There are around 75 POS machines which were operational at different locations of Indian Railways prior to awarding contract for  installing 10,000 POS machines to SBI. The refund is processed through online method in this POS machines, wherein, the customer needs to swipe his credit/debit card at the POS machine at the time of cancellation of the ticket and the due refund amount as fed by the booking/reservation clerk is credited to the account of the card holder. However, this process of refund is possible only at locations having POS machines.

At non POS locations, the Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) is issued to affect the refund. This procedure shall continue till further advice. However, the refund of the ticket issued using SBI POS shall not be processed by swiping the card on non SBI POS. While cancelling the ticket, the system shall prompt the booking clerk about the POS (SBI or other bank) which was used at the time of booking and advise the booking clerk not to swipe the card.

Ticket Cancellation Charges

The amount deducted is based on the time of cancellation and the status of your ticket. Detailed explanations are given below:- For cancellation of confirmed tickets more than one day in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, excluding the date of journey, the minimum cancellation charges based on the class of travel as follows:-

Flat Cancellation charges per passenger

Class of your ticket and Charges are following : –

Rs.120/- : AC First/Executive Class
Rs.100/- : First Class/AC 2 Tier
Rs.90/- : AC Chair Car/AC 3Tier/AC 3 Economy
Rs.60/- : Sleeper Class
Rs.30/- : Second Class

For cancellation of confirmed tickets less than 24 hrs and up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train, the cancellation charges will be 25% of the total fare paid by you, subject to flat minimum cancellation charges for each class.
For cancellation of confirmed tickets less than four hours before the scheduled departure of the train and up to the prescribed time limits as mentioned below, after actual departure of the train, the cancellation charges will be 50% of the fare paid by you, subject to flat minimum cancellation charges for each class.

The Distance of Journey

Time limits for cancellation after the departure of the train.

Up to 200 Kms. : 3 Hrs.
From 201 Km. To 500 Kms. : 6 Hrs.
Over 500 Kms. : 12 Hrs.

For cancellation of RAC/Waitlisted tickets up to the prescribed time limits, the full refund of fare will be given, after deducting the clerkage charges per passenger.

Clerkage Charges Per Passenger and Class

Rs. 30 : AC First/Executive Class
Rs. 30 : First Class/AC 2 Tier
Rs. 30 : AC Chair Car/AC 3Tier/AC 3 Economy
Rs. 30 : AC-3 Economy
Rs. 30 : Sleeper Class
Rs. 30 : Second class

FAQs

✅ If there is no delay in main train and connecting train tickets is presented for cancellation, after departure of connecting trains, and within 3 hours of actual arrival of main train, should system block cancellation with message to file TDR? Currently system is allowing cancellation and giving refund to passengers as per refund rule 2015?

When there is no delay in first train that means therefore is no misconnection rule shall not be applicable. In this case subsequent tickets shall be dealt with in accordance with cancellation of tickets as per Normal Refund Rule.

✅ In PRS, mostly delay less than 3 hrs may not be updated and actual delay all destination of train also will not be updated. If delay in first rain does not result in missing of connecting train, then also should system grant refund, for cancellation tried after connecting train departure? (Eg. in first train schedule arrival time is 01.00 hrs, due to delay, train reaches at 02.00 hrs, connecting train schedule depart is 01.30 hrs, but connecting train is also delayed and departed at 02.30. If passenger opted for cancellation, at 03.00 hrs, should system grant full refund or not?

No, Basic rule should be missing of train due to late running. Hence, the conditions of late running is fulfilled however, train not missed.

✅ Should system consider delay in both trains to identify refund eligible cases to avoid revenue loss? If so, then is it sufficient to refer PRS delay or should system check NTES timings also?

No, Basic rule should be missing of train due to late running. Hence, the conditions of late running is fulfilled however, train not missed.

✅ Should system grant full refund to connecting train PNR opted for cancellation up to actual train departure time of connecting train OR up to refund time limit permissible for main ticket? (i.e if main train is cancelled full refund is allowed, for main ticket which is cancelled within 3 days excluding scheduled depart day, in this case for connecting train ticket should system gives full refund only up to actual depart of connecting train OR up to 3 days excluding scheduled departure day of main train?

Till misconnection of connecting train is, not, arised/finalised, the refund shall be governed by Normal Refund Rule.

✅ Should system impose location specific check that full refund needs to be given only, if cancellation of connecting train PNR is tried at boarding station (or satellite of boarding) of main train?

No, Till misconnection of connecting train is not arised/finalized, the refund shall be governed by normal refund rule.

✅ In case of contingency, in main train, if passenger wants to cancel both tickets in web, should system allow both journeys to get cancelled? Should system impose any restriction on system tickets (main/connecting) opted for cancellation in web?

Yes, However, cancellation of such counter ticket of the connecting journey through IRCTC/139 may not be allowed since as per rule tickets have to be surrendered at the originating station for collecting refund amount.

✅ It is mentioned that e-ticket and counter ticket can be linked. Should system allow linking of main ticket booked in internet, with connecting train ticket booked at counters and vice versa at counters?

Yes, in case of misconnection of connecting train, Cancellation / TDR shall be filed as per the booking of connection train tickets (whether e-ticket/counter ticket).

• Train Ticket Refund Rule : Indian Railway
• TDR Rules in Railway