Indian Railways (IR) has aligned its ticket cancellation and refund rules for confirmed tickets with its chart preparation time. This was informed by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw addressing a press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
The change was necessary as the charting time for the preparation of the first chart had been advanced from four hours to the present 9-18 hours.[The advancement of charting time happened effective July 10,2025 as per a Railway Board directive. It said that the first chart preparation time would be advanced from four hours before scheduled departure of train to eight hours before scheduled departure of train. For trains scheduled to depart between 5:00 hrs and 14:00 hrs, the first Reservation Chart would be prepared by 21:00 hrs of the previous day, the notification said. For trains scheduled to depart between 14.00 hrs of today and 5.00 hrs of the next day, the first Reservation Chart will be prepared eight hours before the scheduled departure of the train. The directive aimed to help passengers plan their journey better while waitlisted passengers would know their confirmation status well in advance.]
To harmonise charting time and cancellation / refund rules, IR has changed the norms from the earlier 48/12/4 hrs to the new 72/24/8 hrs
Earlier IR charged a flat rate for confirmed tickets ( depending on class of travel Rs 60 per passenger for 2S and Rs 240 per passenger for 1A) for confirmed tickets cancelled >48 hrs before train departure, charged 25 % of fare for 48 hrs- 12 hrs window, charged 50 % of fare for 12 hrs-4 hrs window and for less than no refund was admissible and passenger had to file TDR within 72 hrs of departure of train at the station where he was supposed to board the train.
Change of Boarding Point
IR has allowed passengers to change their boarding point up to 30 minutes before the train’s departure at the originating station. This would be useful in big cities with multiple stations. Presently, change of boarding point is allowed only before chart preparation.
Travel class upgradation
Finally, IR has allowed travel class upgradation up to 30 minutes before departure for counter tickets. Previously, a passenger could upgrade travel class only before charting. The move aims to provide passengers with more options for comfortable travel.
