Lok Sabha Question No. 6031 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-04
Subject: Refund Facilities on Cancellation of Tickets
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6031 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2018

## REFUND FACILITIES ON CANCELLATION OF TICKETS

6031. SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of different avenues available for a passenger to avail refund  facilities  on  cancellation  of  tickets  falling  under  different categories;

(b) the details of refund mechanism and policy of the railways in case of failure on account of online glitches and offline unavailability of the cancellation services;

(c) whether there is any scope for flexibility for the convenience of the passengers  in  case  there  is  unavailability  of  services  on  the  part  of railways; and

(d) if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS ( SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.6031 BY SHRI SUSHIL KUMAR SINGH TO BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  04.04.2018  REGARDING  REFUND FACILITIES ON CANCELLATION OF TICKETS

(a):  The  details  of  different  avenues  available  for  a  passenger  to  get refund  of  fare  on  cancellation  of  tickets  as  per  Railway  Passengers (Cancellation  of  Tickets  and  Refund  of  Fares)  Rules,  2015  are  as under:-

(i).  Passenger  Reservation  System  (PRS)  counter  tickets/Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) tickets on surrendering of original ticket are cancelled and amount due is refunded across the reservation/booking counters, within the prescribed time limit.

(ii). E-ticket is cancelled/ Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) filed online on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website within the prescribed time limit.  The refund amount is credited to the account from where the payment for the booking of ticket has been made.

(iii).  In  exceptional  circumstances  as  per  Refund  Rule,  TDR  can  be filed for getting refund beyond prescribed time limit.

(iv). PRS counter tickets can also be cancelled through IRCTC website (www.irctc.co.in) or through 139 and refund amount can be collected across  the  reservation/booking  counters  on  surrendering  of  original tickets within the prescribed time limit.

(v).  Station  masters  of  nominated  stations  have  powers  to  allow cancellation of tickets and grant refund of fare in exceptional circumstances.

(b): As per Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Tickets and Refund of Fares)  Rules,  2015,  the  e-tickets  booked  through  IRCTC  website  are cancelled/TDR filed through the IRCTC  website  only within the prescribed time limit. In exceptional circumstances, passenger may

approach to IRCTC or Office of Chief Commercial Managers(Refund) of concerned  zonal  Railways  for  grant  of  refund.    In  case  payment  is deducted and the Passenger Name Record (PNR)/ticket is not issued due to technical reasons, the refund is processed by IRCTC automatically  on  the  following  day  of  the  transaction  made  by  user after confirmation through the file of transaction from bank and PNR generation from PRS.

(c) & (d): All cancellation and refund of fare is governed by Notification dated 4 th   Nov.,  2015  as  Railway  Passengers  (Cancellation  of  Tickets and Refund of Fares) Rules, 2015. In exceptional circumstances there is  already provision for refund of fare by Chief Commercial Managers (Refund)  of  concerned  zonal  Railways.  Also,  Station  Managers  of nominated stations  of  zonal  Railways  have  been  authorized  to  grant refund of fare on counter tickets in exceptional circumstances.

Further to the provision indicated in reply at (a) above, to facilitate the passengers  PRS counter tickets are also cancelled at relatively smaller stations wherever PRS booking facility is available throughout the  day  and  refund  is  granted  beyond  the  working  hours  of  PRS counters/current counters.

Also  to  facilitate  e-tickets  passengers  in  case  of  cancellation  of trains,  automatic  cancellation  is  done  and  refund  amount  due  is credited  in  the  account  from  which  the  booking  transaction  took place.  Cancellation  or  Filing  of  online  TDR  is  not  required  in  such cases.

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