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Friday, March 27, 2026

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Railways’ stricter cancellation rules explained: Why you must cancel earlier for better refunds

The Ministry of Railways has tightened train ticket cancellation rules, sharply reducing refunds for cancellations made closer to the time of departure.

Written by: Dheeraj Mishra

4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 25, 2026 05:54 PM IST

Under the new rules, if a ticket is cancelled up to eight hours before a train’s departure, the passenger will not receive any refund. Rohit Jain Paras

The Ministry of Railways has tightened train ticket cancellation rules, sharply reducing refunds for cancellations made closer to the time of departure. It has also announced that passengers will now be able to change their boarding point up to 30 minutes before the train’s departure.

What are the new train ticket cancellation rules?

Under the new rules, if a ticket is cancelled less than eight hours before a train’s departure, the passenger will not receive any refund. If a ticket is cancelled between eight and 24 hours before departure, 50% of the fare will be refunded, and the remainder will be deducted as a cancellation charge.

For cancellations made between 24 and 72 hours before departure, 75% of the fare will be refunded.

If a ticket is cancelled more than 72 hours in advance, only a minimum flat cancellation charge will apply, and the remaining amount will be refunded.

What were the earlier train ticket cancellation rules?

Earlier, the cancellation rules were categorised into four-hour, 12-hour and 48-hour timelines.

This meant there was no refund for tickets cancelled less than four hours before a train’s departure. There was a 50% refund for cancellations made between four and 12 hours before departure, a 75% refund between 12 and 48 hours before departure, and an almost full refund (after deducting a minimum cancellation charge) for cancellations made more than 48 hours before departure.

Why did the Railways change the rule?

The rules have been changed to align ticket cancellations with changes made to the chart preparation system. Earlier, railway charts were prepared four hours before the departure of the train. With this charting system, RAC and waitlisted passengers receive the status of their ticket booking, indicating whether their ticket has been confirmed or not.

However, last year in July, the Railways changed the charting system, and now the status of a ticket is confirmed between 9 and 18 hours before departure. For trains departing between 5 am and 2 pm, the reservation chart is prepared, preferably by 9 pm the previous day. For trains departing between 2 pm and 11:59 pm, and between 12 am and 5 am, the first reservation chart is prepared, preferably 9 hours in advance.

Officials said that since the charting system was changed to enable passengers to plan their journeys in advance, the cancellation system had to be changed accordingly.

Has it been implemented?

Not yet. The new ticket cancellation refund rules will be implemented between April 1 and April 15.

What has changed regarding boarding points?

The Ministry of Railways has announced that passengers will now be able to change their boarding point up to 30 minutes before the train’s departure. To implement this, a special provision will be made in the ticket booking app, such as RailOne, and the portal, allowing passengers to make changes.

Currently, the boarding point can only be selected at the time of booking a ticket, not afterward.

This will be especially useful in larger cities with multiple stations, where a passenger will be able to choose to board from any of those stations. Officials said this will be implemented by April 15.

While this provision is currently applicable mainly to online tickets, officials said efforts are being made to extend it to counter tickets as well.

What are the other changes announced?

The changes are part of the Railways’ “52 reforms in 52 weeks” this year. The Railways has so far announced a total of nine reforms, including these two passenger-centric measures. Other reforms include salt transportation, automobile transportation, improving the quality of construction, better onboard services such as cleaning of running trains, rail-based logistics through Gati Shakti Cargo terminals, a rail tech policy, and E-RCT.

NEWS TODAY 26.03.2026

Inpatients, attendants seek absentee voting facility, urge ECI to allow ballots in medical emergencies in TN

Patients and attendants at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) pointed out that the hospital currently has around 1,200 inpatients.

Representative ImageFile Photo

R Kirubakaran

Updated on:

25 Mar 2026, 10:46 am

COIMBATORE: Inpatients and their attendants at hospitals are demanding the introduction of absentee voting facilities, which will allow voters who cannot physically reach their designated polling booths on election day to cast their votes.

Patients and attendants at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) pointed out that the hospital currently has around 1,200 inpatients. With each patient accompanied by at least one attendant, the total number of potential voters at the hospital exceeds 2,500.

Similar situations exist across hundreds of government and private medical facilities in every district. They urged the Election Commission to consider options such as postal ballots or mobile voting booths for such cases. They requested that these provisions be introduced at least for future elections.

As an immediate measure, they suggested setting up temporary polling booths in a safe, accessible location near hospital premises (wherever possible) so that attendants and patients can vote without leaving the hospital vicinity.

"Postal voting is currently restricted to specific categories like armed forces personnel, government employees, senior citizens above 85 years, and persons with disabilities. There is no general absentee voting system in place. This makes it extremely difficult for many people admitted in hospitals," said M Shobana Devi, a PhD scholar from Pollachi.

"I am here to take care of my mother who has undergone cardiac surgery. My village is not very far, but I cannot leave her alone. If there was a provision for postal voting or hospital-based voting or nearby for people stuck in medical emergencies, it would help thousands like us," she added.

Similarly, M Shanmuganathan (42), a patient from Tiruppur district and an active political worker, also expressed disappointment. "I was actively involved in election campaigning until a week ago. Now, I am admitted here for treatment. I brought all necessary documents hoping to avail the postal ballot facility, but the hospital staff said no such option is given for patients. If my health permits, I am ready to go anywhere to vote.

However, setting up mobile polling booths at or near hospital premises would allow many patients and their attendants to cast their votes."

He said that while even smaller hospitals handle at least 100 inpatients, large multi-specialty and super-specialty hospitals often have over 1,000 patients at a time. Most inpatients are accompanied by family members who also stay with them on Election Day leaving their voting right underutilised.

The demand was also raised at the recent all-party meeting convened by the Election Commission at the Coimbatore Collectorate, where several political parties proposed voting facilities for inpatients and their attendants.

R Vellai Nataraj, a member of the Healthcare Beneficiaries Welfare Committee at the Government District Headquarters Hospital, Coimbatore, said that many countries have successfully implemented absentee voting systems. "In Coimbatore district alone, there are around 3,000 inpatients in government hospitals, and several thousand more in private hospitals. While we add their attendants huge number of voters is unable to cast their votes in every election. Practical challenges involved in it but the issue cannot be ignored," he said.

"During the Covid-19 pandemic, several states made special arrangements for patients to vote, but it was held at the common polling booths. Similarly, the Election Commission can set up secure mobile polling booths near hospitals in the future," he added.

When asked, a senior official from the Election Cell said "We have received this demand from many political parties. The election commission should take decision on it. Moreover offering voting provisions to the admitted patients is not easily implementable."