New Delhi, March 26 Various passenger associations have urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw not to implement the new refund rules, under which travellers will not receive any refund for cancelling a confirmed ticket up to 8 hours before a train's departure.
While announcing reforms in the railway sector on Tuesday, Vaishnaw had stated that between April 1 and 15 this year, a new norm would be implemented under which passengers will not receive any refund for the cancellation of train tickets up to eight hours before departure, instead of the existing norm of four hours.
Vaishnaw said that the existing refund rule is being modified to discourage black marketing and last-minute ticket sales by agents.
He also announced a revision of other refund slabs, according to which a cancellation between 24 and eight hours will incur a 50 per cent deduction from the ticket cost, as against 12 to four hours at present.
Similarly, the Railways will deduct 25 per cent of the ticket cost for cancellation between 72 and 24 hours before departure.
A full refund – except a nominal cancellation charge per passenger – will be given for cancellations made more than 72 hours before the train's departure.
Under the existing policy, cancellations made between 48 and 12 hours incur a 25 per cent deduction of the ticket cost, while a full refund is given for cancellations made more than 48 hours in advance.
Passenger associations said that the new refund rule will be a huge financial burden on travellers, claiming that the Railways will make double the money on single berths by offering the cancelled berth to other passengers.
“I urge the Railway Minister not to go ahead with the new refund rules. It will put undue financial burden on passengers,” M Jameel Ahamed, Chairman, Coimbatore District Railway Passengers’ Welfare Association, said.
He added, “Railways should not think of making money by amending refund rules. There are many other initiatives in freight transportation that can help them earn revenue.”
Jameel said that if a family of five or six gets confirmed berths for a train for the next day and, due to any reason, they have to cancel all tickets within eight hours before departure, they will not get any refund.
“The Railways will offer those berths to other passengers to make money. This is unfair,” he said.
The ministry clarified that the refund norms will not put any financial burden.
“It is factually incorrect to say that modified refund rules will be an extra burden on passengers,” the ministry posted on X soon after the minister’s announcement.
It added, “As a step towards transparency, to inform passengers in time whether their tickets are confirmed or not, Railways, under continuous reforms, has increased the chart preparation timing from 4 hours to 9-18 hours before departure. This has provided clarity to passengers travelling from distant locations regarding their journey.”
The ministry also said that as part of improving passenger experience, along with the change in chart preparation timings, the refund rules have also been revised with no additional cost payable.
Basant Kumar Shukla, Secretary of Bhartiya Yatri Kendra, a Nagpur-based passenger association, said, “The Railway Ministry increased the chart preparation timings from 4 hours to 9-18 hours in July 2025, but refund norms were not amended then.”
“Since July 2025, chart preparation rules and refund rules have been different, and no need was felt to link refund rules with chart preparation timings. What is the urgency now?” Shukla asked.
Advocate Narendra Kumar Sharma, President of Achhnera Railway Yatri Welfare Association, said, “The ministry’s decision on chart preparation timing is welcome. However, linking it with refund and cancellation norms will impact passengers negatively.”
“We humbly request the railway minister to look into it,” he added.