Cancellation, Refund & TDR Policy of Indian Railways

Cancellation Policy

(w.e.f. 12 November 2015)
The Railways permit refund on cancellation of untraveled and partially traveled journey tickets, after deduction of cancellation charges.

You can claim refund on unreserved, reserved, wait listed and RAC tickets.

However you must remember, that your ticket should be surrendered within a prescribed time as given below
Depending on the the scheduled/actual departure time of the train. a percentage of the fare will be deducted as cancellation charge.

These are given in detail in the following table.

TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) Policy

If you missed your train then it is possible to cancel a train reservation after chart preparation. You need to file a TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) for the same.

Valid Reasons for TDR

A passenger can file a TDR if he was not able to perform the journey due to any of the following reasons.

• Train cancelled
• Train late more than three hours and passenger not travelled
• Difference of fare in case proper coach not attached
• AC failure
• Travelled without proper ID proof
• Wrongly charged by TTE
• Train diverted and train not touching boarding station
• Train diverted and train not touching destination station
• Passenger not travelled as reservation provided in lower class
• Train terminated short of destination
• Party partially confirmed/waitlisted and waitlisted passengers did not travel
• Party partially confirmed/waitlisted and all passengers did not travel
• Party could not cancel because chart prepared at originating or previous remote location
• Train missed as connecting train was late
• Change in reservation status from confirmed to waitlisted/part waitlisted/RAC after chart preparation
• After charting no room provided
• Difference of fare as passenger travelled in lower class

In case of eticket from IRCTC or Online Booking etc in case of cancellation of trains for e tickets: W. e.f. 01.07.2015, automatic refund is granted. Filing of TDR is not required.

IRCTC will process the refund claim with the Railway Administration and refund granted by the Railway shall be credited to your account.

In case of any problem in e-ticket TDR filing, pls mail to etickets@irctc.co.in

TDR Rules

• The TDR Refund will be processed as per Extant Railway Rules:
• TDR should be filed within 30 days of Departure of Train
• The refund process will take at-least 90 days and more
• E-ticket refund request (after chart preparation) can be filed online.
• In case of i-ticket, online refund request is not allowed. For i-ticket please follow the following procedure:
  • Surrender the I-Ticket with the Station Master and obtain a Ticket Deposit Receipt.
  • Send your claim for refund to the following address attaching the original copy of the TDR to:
    General Manager (Operations),
    Indian Railway Catering & Tourism, Corporation Ltd.,
    Internet Ticketing Centre,
    State Entry Road, New Delhi – 110 055.
  • IRCTC will process the refund claim with the Railway Administration and refund granted by the Railway shall be credited to your account
  • Refund claims under above clause may require at least 90 days or more for processing

Refund Rule

• Refund on Normal Ticket : Refund can be claimed during the first two hours of the opening of the PRS counters on the next day for the tickets for the trains whose scheduled departure time is between 1801 hrs and 0600 hrs. For trains whose scheduled departure time is is between 0601 hrs and 1800 hrs, refund can be claimed up to four hours after the scheduled departure of the train during the working hours of the PRS counters where cancellation is allowed round the clock.
• Refund on Tatkal Ticket : If Tatkal ticket is cancelled up to 24 hrs before the scheduled departure of the train 25% excluding the Tatkal charges will be refunded. Thereafter no refund means would be zero refund.
• In case train is cancelled by the Rlys due to accidents, breaches or floods, Bandh or Rail Roko agitation etc- full refund of the fare of entire booked journey will be granted .On line cancellation can be done up to 72 hrs.
• In case train is running late more than 3 hrs and Passenger has not travelled- full fare will be refunded.
• In case proper coach is not attached-Difference of fare between the booked class and lower travelled class will be refunded. Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the lower class travelled is must to claim for refund.
• • In case of AC failure of AC1class/Executive class- Difference of fare between AC1class or Executive class and First Class will be refunded for the distance AC not worked. Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the AC not worked is must to claim for refund.
  • In case of AC failure of AC2/AC3 class- Difference of fare between AC2/AC3 class and Sleeper Class will be refunded for the distance AC not worked. Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the AC not worked is must to claim for refund.
  • In case of AC failure of AC chair car class- Difference of fare between AC chair car class and second class will be refunded for the distance AC not worked. Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the AC not worked is must to claim for refund.
• In case Travelling without proper ID proof-will be considered without ticket and will be charged accordingly. Chief Commercial Manager/Refunds can be approached for discretionary refund. Excess fare ticket (EFT) (in original)issued by the TTE is must to claim for refund.
• In case of wrongly charged by the TTE-full refund will be granted by the Chief Commercial Manager/Refunds. Excess fare ticket (EFT) (in original) issued by the TTE is must to claim for refund.
• In case party/ family partially travelled- refund will be granted by the Chief Commercial Manager/Refunds as per rule. Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the less passenger travelled is must to claim for refund.
• In case Rlys is not able to provide accommodation-full refund will be granted.
• Part Confirm/RAC/Waiting List Ticket.
  • If on one PNR there are more than one passenger and one passenger is having confirmed/RAC status and rest are on waiting list or vice-versa, names of all the passengers booked on such PNR will appear in the chart.
  • A certificate can be obtained from the Ticket Checking staff in the train regarding non-travelling of wait-listed passengers on such tickets. Refund will be processed through TDR refund only after receiving the original certificate. IRCTC will forward the claim to Concerned Railways along with original certificate 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.
  • If all such passengers do not want to travel before chart preparation, online cancellation can be done as at present. However, after chart preparation, online request can be sent to IRCTC through TDR refund for seeking refund. 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

  Note-Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the AC not worked or Excess fare ticket (EFT) (in original) issued by the TTE for wrongly charged or Certificate from the TTE (in original) for the less passenger travelled may be submitted to the following address along with the application to claim for refund

  General Manager (Operations),
  Indian Railway Catering & Tourism, Corporation Ltd.,
  Internet Ticketing Centre
  State Entry Road,
  New Delhi – 110 055.

• If it is an e-ticket, the passenger should file online or email IRCTC within the prescribed time limits.
• Confirmed Ticket can also be cancelled through SMS by sending PNR number and train number to 139 via cancellation through 139. User will get One Time Password on his mobile which has to be entered into for cancelling tickets.

In case of any problem in e-ticket TDR filing, please email etickets@irctc.co.in.

How can I cancel e-ticket and how will I get refund?

E-Tickets (Reservations) can be cancelled only through Internet till Chart preparation of the train and it is not allowed at face to face Railway Counters.

If the user wishes to cancel his e-Ticket, he can do so till the time of chart preparation for the train (which is normally 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train from the train starting station) through the Internet.

He can log on to www.irctc.co.in and go to Booked Tickets link and select the ticket to be cancelled and can initiate the cancellation by selecting the passengers to be cancelled.

Cancellation would be confirmed online and the refund would be credited back to the account used for booking as for normal Internet tickets.

If there is any partial cancellation of ticket please ensure that the modified ticket (Electronic Reservation Slip) is printed separately as for the original ticket.

To get more detail about how to cancel e-ticket click on this link – http://irctc.co.in/etktcanc.html

How can I cancel e-ticket after preparation of chart?

After chart preparation, Refunds for Confirmed/RAC/Partially Confirmed Eticket will be processed through TDR process.

Customer can file TDR online and refund sanctioned by Railways would be credited back to user/agents account.

Refund claims under above clause may require at least 90 days or more for processing.

Only those PNRs whose Date of journey is less than 30 days will be listed and shall be eligible for applying TDR.

Customers are requested to select PNR which are eligible for TDR filing. Please refer to File TDR Procedure

How to File TDR online for my e-ticket?

Click the below link to get step by step guide how to file TDR online –
http://www.irctc.co.in/cgi-bin/bv60.dll/irctc/services/FiletdrProc.do

What happens if after preparation of chart my e-ticket remains in RAC and I don’t want to travel?

If the user wishes to cancel his e-Ticket, he can do so till the time of chart preparation for the train (which is normally 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train from the train starting station) through the Internet.

No cancellation of e-ticket is permitted on-line after the chart preparation. After
chart preparation, Refunds for Confirmed/RAC/Partially Confirmed E-ticket will be processed through TDR process.

Customer can file TDR online and refund sanctioned by Railways would be credited back to user/agents account.

Refund claims under above clause may require at least 90 days or more for processing. Only those PNRs whose Date of journey is less than 30 days will be listed and shall be eligible for applying TDR.

Customers are requested to select PNR which are eligible for TDR filing. Please refer to File TDR Procedure