RCTC Refund Policy: In the festive seasons like Chhath Puja and Diwali, it is difficult to get confirmed tocket on trains. And many times, even the booked tickets don’t end up on the ‘confirmed’ side. However, many times, passengers also cancel tickets based on changes in travel plan and consequently, the Indian Railways deducts charges based on the time you cancel the ticket related to the day of the journey. Moreover, there is also a confusion about the varied charges that are applicable to the train ticket cancellations. Hence, checl details in this article about the train cancellation charges.
If you cancel a train ticket that is ‘confirmed’, ‘RAC’, or on ‘waitlist’ with Indian Railways, be prepared to incur a cancellation charge. The matter of thing to keeep in mind is that the deduction amount is relatively closely to the time of cancellation. And it is interesting to note that these charges are not uniform and differ based on your ticket ‘category’ – be it the luxurious AC first class, the comfortable AC chair car, or the economical second class.
The train passengers must note that there are two categories in ticket cancellation in Railways. First – before the chart is created and second – after the chart is created. This decides how much refund you will get.
Cancellation of confirmed tickets in advance:
If you cancel the train tickets with more than 48 hours remaining before the train takes off from the original station, the charges are as follows:
- Rs 240 flat cancellation charges per passenger for AC First/executive class passengers
- Rs 200 for AC 2-Tier/ first class
- Rs 180 for AC 3-Tier/AC Chair car, AC-3 Economy
- Rs 60 for Second class
In case, you cancel a confirmed ticket with less than 48 hours remaining, but more than 12 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges will be 25% of the total fare paid (subject to a minimum flat cancellation charge).
Moreover, if you cancel a confirmed ticket with less than 12 hours remaining and up to 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges will be 50% of the total fare paid but subject to a minimum flat cancellation charge for each class.
And if you have a train ticket that’s either RAC or on the waiting list, you still have the option to cancel it. In this case, you have to make sure you do this at least half an hour before the train is due to leave, no matter how far you’re going.