New rules for rail bookings and cancellations announced

By Arun Kumar Das

New Delhi, Mar 24: Indian Railways has announced revision of its ticket cancellation rules to curb misuse.

As per the new rules, there will be no refund for confirmed tickets cancelled less than 8 hours before departure.

The new rules also mandate 50 per cent deduction between 24-8 hours, 25 per cent between 72-24 hours, and flat fee deductions beyond 72 hours.

Boarding points can now be changed up to 30 minutes before departure.

In order to reduce misuse, and make seat allocation more efficient for passengers, the new updated system envisages that the refund eligibility will now depend on how early a passenger cancels the ticket before the train’s departure.

Earlier, such changes were permitted only until chart preparation.

The new rule extends convenience closer to departure time.

Announcing a series of reforms, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the updated policy also aims to curb irregular practices by ticket agents and bulk booking operators who sometimes reserve and cancel tickets repeatedly for unfair advantage.

By tightening cancellation rules, Indian Railways hopes to ensure fair access to confirmed seats and improve overall booking system efficiency.

The revised rules are important because the new rules promote fair ticket availability for genuine passengers, reduce last-minute cancellations and seat wastage, improve transparency in refund calculations, strengthen system efficiency and booking discipline and offer better flexibility for boarding adjustments.

Officials say the revised structure is designed to discourage last-minute cancellations that often lead to seat blocking and reduce availability for other passengers.

Along with refund reforms, the Railways has also introduced a passenger-friendly update allowing changes to the boarding station.

Passengers can now modify their boarding point up to 30 minutes before departure, offering greater flexibility, especially for those travelling from cities with multiple railway stations.

Besides, Vaishnaw announced reforms in salt transportation, automobile transportation, and also for improving the quality of construction.

Till now the Railways has undertaken a total nine reforms.