New Delhi: Thinking of cancelling your tickets at the last minute? Well, this might catch you a heavy penalty because Indian Railways have tightened penalties while offering more time to change boarding stations in new norms.
As per the Indian Railways, the new system to be active from April 1 and April 15 that would replace class based flat charges with a time bound, tired deduction system. It aims to simplify refunds for passengers and reduce misuse of booking.
New Changes For Passengers :
Under the new norm, refund amounts will depend on a train’s departure:
- Passengers cancelling tickets more than 72 hours before departure will receive the highest refund, subject to minimal charges.
- For cancellations made between 72 hours and 24 hours, a deduction of around 25% of the fare will apply.
- If tickets are cancelled between 24 hours and 8 hours before departure, the penalty increases significantly, with about 50% of the fare deducted.
- Crucially, under the new rules, no refund will be granted if a confirmed ticket is cancelled within 8 hours of departure, marking a major shift from earlier norms.
Boarding station rules :
Passengers can now avail to change their boarding stations up to 30 minutes before departure which was previously allowed only before chart preparation.
Stricter Rules :
According to the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the new refund rules will curb ticket hoarding by touts. The focus is to reduce such malpractices and improve ticket availability for genuine passengers. Earlier touts used to block tickets in bulk and cancel unsold ones that neared departure, recovering a major portion of the fare.
What Remains Unchanged ?
- Waitlisted tickets if cancelled before charting it will continue to attract a nominal cancellation fee.
- Fully waitlisted tickets still remain automatically cancelled with full refund in hand.
- If trains get cancelled or significantly delayed, subject to conditions, even in that situation full refunds to be given.
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