New Refund Rules 2026: Indian Railways has announced a new set of refund rules for confirmed train tickets. As per the new rules, if a passenger chooses to cancel a confirmed train ticket within 24 to 72 hours of the scheduled departure, there will be a reduction of 25% in the train ticket fare. If cancellation is made within 8 hours no refund will be issued on the ticket.
New Cancellation and Refund Rules 2026: Key Things to Know
1. For confirmed tickets, if cancellation is made more than 72 hours before departure, you will get the maximum possible refund, only minimum flat cancellation charges per passenger will be applicable.2. If you cancel a confirmed ticket 72 hours to 24 hours before train departure, there will be a standard penalty window (25% of fare subject to minimum charges)3. If train ticket is canceled from 24 hours to 8 hours before departure, 50% of the fare subject to minimum charges will be deducted.4. If you cancel your confirmed train ticket less than 8 hours before the train departure, no refund will be given.
Refund rules for PRS counter tickets and e-tickets have also changed.
- Earlier, passengers had to cancel tickets at the terminating station. Now passengers can cancel from the counter at any station.
- Earlier, for e-tickets, passengers had to manually file the ticket deposit receipt. Now the requirement of TDR has been abolished. No passenger action is required and an automatic refund is given.
Meanwhile, last year Indian Railways also made several changes in its train ticket booking system. For example, effective from October 1, 2025, Indian Railways introduced a rule making Aadhaar authentication mandatory for passengers booking tickets reserved under the general quota through the IRCTC website or mobile application during the first 15 minutes of the booking window.The move was aimed at ensuring that genuine users benefit from the reservation system while curbing misuse by unauthorized entities.The measure was introduced soon after Indian Railways made Aadhaar authentication mandatory for Tatkal booking from July 1, 2025.Those booking tickets under the Tatkal scheme are required to complete Aadhaar verification and can do so only through the IRCTC website or its mobile application.The guidelines also outline restrictions for Authorized Railway Ticketing Agents with respect to Tatkal Reservation.Such agents are barred from booking Tatkal tickets during the initial 30 minutes of the booking window on the first day. This restriction applies from 10:00 am to 10:30 am for air-conditioned classes and from 11:00 am to 11:30 am for non-air-conditioned classes.
