India's Ministry of Railways has announced stricter train ticket cancellation rules, with no refunds for cancellations up to eight hours before departure. The changes align with revised reservation chart preparation timings and will be implemented by mid-April. Passengers can now change their boarding point up to 30 minutes before the train's departure from origin.
Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a reform package on Tuesday, including stricter train ticket cancellation rules. Under the new policy, no refund applies for cancellations up to eight hours before departure, up from the previous four-hour threshold. Cancellations between eight and 24 hours yield 50% refund, 24 to 72 hours offer 75%, and beyond 72 hours incur only a minimum flat charge. Previously, refunds were tiered at four, 12, and 48 hours. Officials stated the changes align with last July's revision to reservation chart preparation, now occurring 9-18 hours before departure—for trains leaving 5am-2pm, preferably by 9pm prior; others nine hours ahead—to help passengers plan better. Counter tickets can now be cancelled at any station with automatic refunds, eliminating the need for ticket deposit receipts. Passengers may change boarding points up to 30 minutes before the train's origin departure via apps like RailOne, aiding those in cities with multiple stations. Implementation is set between April 1 and 15. These are part of Railways' '52 reforms in 52 weeks', with nine announced, including steel containers for salt transport (handling 9.2 million tonnes annually, 25% of India's production), new single- and double-stack wagons for automobiles, and tighter contractor rules requiring 60% direct execution versus prior 70% subcontracting. Vaishnaw noted the non-corrosive wagons will enable seamless multimodal salt transport after stakeholder consultations.
