Indian Railways I-Ticket and E-Ticket Cancellation

Indian Railways Ticket Cancellation

The manner in which booking of Indian Railways ticket is made, the cancellation procedure follows the route accordingly. If the ticket is booked from railways reservation counter or if the I-Ticket is purchased using Internet facility, the procedure is different than the E-Ticket purchased using the Internet.

If a passenger wishes to make some change in his journey date or looking forward to cancel the ticket, a cancellation fee upto 25% to 50% may be charged by the Indian Railways depending upon the date of cancellation of ticket then the actual journey date.

1)            Cancellation of I-Ticket

I-ticket cannot be cancelled online. For cancellation of I-ticket one has to approach any one of the computerized reservation counters all over India. The point to be kept in mind is that the cancellation slip of the ticket has to be kept safely till the amount of the ticket gets refunded into the bank account. Bank charges which are being levied by the Banks or Payment gateways levies for booking an I-Ticket are not refundable. Additionally, the service charges are also not refundable. Refund of money is made after deducting the cancellation charges, which are follows:

(a)      Waitlisted or RAC ticket: No cancellation charges shall be payable if a wait-listed or RAC ticket is presented for cancellation up to -

-        Three hours, after actual departure of train when the ticket is for a destination station up to 200 KM.


-      Six hours, after actual departure of train when the ticket is for a destination  station of more than 200 KM but up to 500 KM., and


-     Twelve hours, after actual departure of train when the ticket is for a destination station of more than 500 KM.

In all the above cases, a deduction of a clerical charge of Rs. 20/- per passenger would be made.

Note: Where confirmed reservation has been provided to RAC or wait-listed ticket holder at any time up to the final preparation of reservation chart, such ticket would be treated as a reserved ticket and cancellation charges shall be payable in accordance with rules for ticket on which reservation made.

(b) Ticket on which reservation made: if a ticket on which reservation of a seat or berth has been made, is presented for cancellation, refund of fare shall be made after deducting cancellation charge from the fare as follows :-

(i)           If a ticket is presented for cancellation more than one day in advance of the scheduled departure of the train (excluding the day of journey) cancellation charge shall be deducted at the flat rate of Rs. 70/- for  A.C First Class/Executive Class, Rs. 60/- for A.C. 2 Tier sleeper class/ A.C. 3 Tier sleeper class/ First class/A.C Chair Car, Rs. 40/- for Sleeper class and Rs. 20/- for Second class.

(ii)          If the ticket is presented for cancellation within one day in advance (excluding the day of journey) and up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges shall be 25% of the fare subject to the min. flat rate mentioned in clause (i).

(iii)         If the ticket is presented for cancellation within four hours before the scheduled departure of the train and up to –


-        Three hours, after actual departure of train when the ticket is for a destination station up to 200 KM.


-       Six hours, after actual departure of train when the ticket is for a destination  station of more than 200 KM but up to 500 KM., and


-       Twelve hours, after actual departure of train when the ticket is for a destination station of more than 500 KM.,

In all the above cases, cancellation charges will be 50% of the fare subject to the minimum flat rate mentioned in the above clause.

(iv)         To cancel tickets after the above period:

For cancellation and refunds after the train’s departure, a passenger has to approach the booking counter of the boarding station for cancellation.  The ticket shall be surrendered with the Station Master who in turn shall issue a Ticket Deposit Receipt.

The claim for refund shall be lodged to the following address attaching the original copy of the Ticket Deposit Receipt:

General Manager (Operations),

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.

1stFloor, 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 passenger credit card account. Refund claims under above clause may require at least 90days or more for processing.

2)           E-Ticket Cancellation:

This can be done only through the Internet (Irctc web site) before the Indian Railways Reservation chart is prepared which is normally prepared four hours before the scheduled departure of the train from the originating station. Cancellation is not allowed across railway counters. Cancellation will be confirmed online and the refund would be credited to the account that was used for booking the ticket. In case of partial cancellation of the ticket, please ensure the modified ERS is printed separately.

(a)         Cancellation of e-Tickets before chart preparation of the train:

If a confirmed ticket is cancelled more than 24 hrs before the scheduled departure of the train, flat
cancellation charges shall be deducted @ Rs.70/- for AC First Class/Executive Class, Rs.60/- for AC 2
Tier/AC 3 Tier/First Class/AC Chair car, Rs.40/- for Sleeper Class and Rs.20/- for Second Class.
Cancellation charges are per passenger.

If a confirmed ticket is cancelled within 24 hrs and up to 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges shall be 25% of the fare subject to the minimum flat rate mentioned in the above clause.

Less than 4 hours before the schedule departure of the train up to chart preparation of the train, 50% of the fare paid subject to the minimum cancellation charges.

Note: the Chart preparation time is the time for the chart preparation from the Train Originating Station or from the Previous chart Preparation station.

(b)         Cancellation of e-Tickets after the preparation of Reservation charts:

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. Such claims can be filed from next date from the journey date to 30 days from the date of journey. For filing online TDR one has to follow procedure given in IRCTC website. IRCTC will forward the claim to Concerned Railways to process the refund and money of refund amount will be credited back to same account through which payment was made after receiving the same from the concerned Railways.

For more details and other rules of refund such as for Tatkal Tickets Booked as e-Tickets, Cancellation of Trains, Cancellation of e-tickets in case of trains cancelled, Refund on partially used tickets, Refund due to late running of trains, Refund of ticket where Railway Administration is unable to provide accommodation, Refund in case of Failure of Air-Conditioning Equipment, Refund in case Passenger are made to travel in a lower class for want of accommodation, Refund on lost/torn and mutilated tickets, Issue of duplicate ticket in lieu of lost/ torn and mutilated ticket familiarize yourself on the IRCTC and Indian Railways cancellation rules.