MADURAI: The Indian Railways has announced that the passengers who cancel tickets booked at counters by making use of the IRCTC website or helpline 139 will be eligible for a refund only if the original tickets are returned at the counters at the commencing stations. Quoting the recent railway board order, sources said after cancelling the tickets through IRCTC or 139, passengers should go to nearby reservation counters and demand a refund.
“Normally confirmed, waitlisted and RAC tickets purchased from counters can be cancelled at any reservation counters in the country. However, if passengers do so at the IRCTC portal or through 139, they should go to the ticket counters at the station where the journey is commencing or to satellite counters in nearby stations, submit the tickets and then get the refund,” said a senior Indian Railways official.
Due to technical and administrative constraints, the Centre for Railway Information Systems has not enabled the facility at all reservation counters to give refunds for tickets cancelled online, said the official.
With the aim of reducing problems for passengers who cancel tickets at the eleventh hour, the railways had introduced the online cancellation even for tickets purchased at counters. According to the refund policy, confirmed tickets should be cancelled four hours before the scheduled departure of train.