The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is the sole operator of ticketing operations of the Indian Railways. An individual can conveniently purchase e-tickets from https://www.irctc.co.in or use the IRCTC rail connect app available both on Play Store and App store.
On top of that there are multiple payment options including pay later (buy now pay later), credit card, debit card and UPI options. There is however no cash on delivery (COD) option and so all e-tickets are always prepaid. This also means that some individuals who had to suddenly cancel their trip might worry about their refunds.
Here’s a timeline and list of charges for cancellation of IRCTC e-ticket, as per the IRCTC website:
There are two categories under which IRCTC will process refunds for cancelled e-tickets of Indian Railways. The first category is ‘Before Preparation of Charts’ and the second category is ‘After Preparation of Charts. For both the categories, the refund would be processed by IRCTC after deducting charges (if any) within 5 to 7 working days depending upon the mode of payment.
Cancellation process of IRCTC e-ticket before preparation of chart
e-Tickets sold via IRCTC website or app cannot be cancelled offline, it has to be online only.
“e-Tickets can be cancelled on the Internet at this website till Chart preparation of the train. Cancellations are not allowed at face-to-face Railway Counters,” said the IRCTC on their website’s help page.
Charts are prepared a few hours before the train departs. Telling the exact moment when a chart would be prepared for a particular train is difficult, so a rough estimate has to be made. Individuals would get an SMS intimation from IRCTC once the chart has been prepared.
“For trains starting up to 12 noon the chart preparation is usually done on the previous night,” said the IRCTC on their website.
The cancellation process can either be initiated on the IRCTC website or app.
IRCTC Website
Step 1: Go to www.irctc.co.in and login using your credentials.
Step 2: Navigate to the ‘Booked Tickets’ tab and select the specific train’s tickets which you intend to cancel. Once selected, confirm it. The tickets would now be cancelled.
IRCTC Rail Connect Mobile app
Step 1: Login to IRCTC rail connect app.
Step 2: From the home screen select ‘Train’. Then navigate to ‘My Bookings’. There would be two tabs here: ‘Upcoming’ and ‘Completed’. Click on ‘Upcoming’. Select the train tickets which you are intending to cancel. Then click on the menu button which is represented by three dots (…). There would be five options available here. Click on ‘Cancel Ticket’. Then confirm the cancellation.
Charges for cancellation of e-ticket before 48 hours:
The cancellation charges are per passenger and only applicable if confirmed e-tickets are cancelled more than 48 hours before the scheduled departure time of the train. Do note that all of these charges are flat rates.
- Rs 240 for AC First Class/Executive Class,
- Rs 200 for AC 2 Tier/First Class,
- Rs 180 for AC 3 Tier/AC Chair car/ AC 3 Economy,
- Rs 120 for Sleeper Class and
- Rs 60 for Second Class.
Cancellation charges for tickets cancelled within 48 to 12 hours
If a confirmed e-ticket is cancelled within 48 hrs and up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure time of the train the charges are 25% of the e-ticket fare or the minimum flat rate as specified above whichever is higher.
For tickets cancelled less than 12 hours and up to four hours before the scheduled departure time of the time and up to the time chart is prepared, the cancellation charges are 50% of the e-ticket fare.
Cancellation of tickets after chart is prepared
“E-ticket cannot be cancelled after chart preparation. Users are requested to use the online TDR filing for such cases and track status of the refund case through tracking service provided by IRCTC website and App,” said IRCTC on their website’s help page.
“No refund of fare shall be admissible on the tickets having confirmed reservation in case the ticket is not cancelled or TDR not filed online up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train,” said IRCTC on their website’s help page.