Full Refund for I-Tickets, E-Tickets and Counter Ticket

Full Refund for I-Tickets, E-Tickets and Counter Ticket

Full refund for all the Tickets booked for the journey period between 21st March to 14th April 2025

Passengers who have cancelled Tickets before the announcement of cancellation of trains by Railways for the journey period between 21st March to 14th April, 2025 shall now get full refund i.e., the balance amount foregone as Cancellation fee

1. In the Wake of COVID-19, all Passenger Train services on Indian Railways including Premium trains, Mail/Express trains, Passenger trains, Suburban Trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway etc are cancelled till the 24.00 hrs of 14.04.2025.

2. In this regard, Railways has liberalised Refund rules and full refund will be granted for all the trains cancelled by Railways during the period from 21st March to 21st June, 2025. They can get refund up to 3 months from the date of journey for the PRS tickets purchased through counters.

3. In continuation to the liberalised rules, it has been decided that, Passengers who have cancelled their tickets before the announcement of cancellation of trains by Railways for the journey period between 21st March to 14th April, 2020 are now eligible to get full refund i.e., the balance amount foregone as Cancellation fee will be refunded. Hence, the rail users have been requested to submit the application in the prescribed format within 6 months of the cancellation of the ticket for which refund is sought, addressing to Chief Claims Officer or Chief commercial Manager/Refunds of the concerned Zonal Railway.

4. In case of e-tickets (online tickets) cancelled before the announcement of cancellation of trains by Railways for the journey period between 21st March to 14th April, 2025, balance amount foregone as cancellation fee will be automatically credited to the respective accounts of passengers

Shri Gajanan Mallya, General Manager, SCR has appealed to the rail users to utilise the liberalised refund rules and avoid rushing to the PRS counters to avoid mass contact at the railway stations. He advised to the public to stay at home and be safe in view of outbreak of COVID-19.

FULL REFUND FOR ALL COUNTERS BOOKED PRS TICKETS & E-TICKETS FOR JOURNEY PERIOD FROM 21.3.2020 TO 14.4.2025

In view of cancellation of all passenger trains and all passenger ticketing up to 14th April 2025, it has been decided by Indian Railways vide notification issued on 27.3.2025 to give full refund for all tickets for journey period from 21st March – 14th April 2020. These instructions shall be in addition to and in continuation of the relaxations in Refund Rules vide notification issued earlier on 21.3.2020 in the wake of COVID -19 to avoid crowding and to maintain social distancing. The procedure for grant of refund shall be as follows:

I. Counter booked PRS Tickets

a) Tickets already cancelled for the journey period from 21st March-14th April 2020: Passengers who have already cancelled their tickets for the said journey period can apply for refund of balance amount to the office of Chief Claims Officer (CCO) or Chief Commercial Manager/Refund (CCM-Refund) of concerned Zonal Railway Head Quarters. The application for said refund can be made through post in the prescribed format within six months of cancellation of ticket for which refund of remaining amount is sought.

b) Tickets cancelled after issuance of this notification: Full refund shall be payable in respect of all such cancellations. The period of availing refund shall be within three months from date of journey.

II. E-tickets

a) Tickets cancelled prior to issuance of this notification: Balance refund amount shall be credited to the account of the passengers from which ticket was booked.

b) Tickets cancelled alter issuance of this notification: Full refund shall be payable in respect of all such cancellations.

Here’s a clear breakdown of refund rules for I-Tickets, E-Tickets, and Counter Tickets in the context of full refunds, especially under extraordinary situations like COVID-19 or train cancellations.

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🚉 Indian Railways Full Refund Policy Overview

1. E-Tickets (Booked via IRCTC Online)

✅ Full Refund Allowed When:

• Train is cancelled by Indian Railways for any reason
• Train is diverted, and passenger doesn’t want to travel
• Train is late by more than 3 hours, and passenger chooses not to travel (must file TDR before actual departure)
• AC fails (e.g., passenger was booked in AC coach, but coach ran without AC)

❗ How to Claim:

• Automatic refund is processed for cancelled trains
• For other cases (like late running, diversion, etc.), file a TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) online at

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2. I-Tickets (Printed & Delivered via Courier from IRCTC)

🔄 Treated Like Counter Tickets:

• Must be physically cancelled at PRS (Passenger Reservation System) counters
• No online cancellation available
• Refund follows the same rules as counter tickets

🕒 Full Refund When:

• Train is cancelled
• Train is late by more than 3 hours
• Passenger denied a reserved seat
• Coach not attached
• Train is diverted and boarding station or destination is not on new route

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3. Counter Tickets (PRS Tickets Bought from Railway Station)

✅ Full Refund Allowed When:

• Train is cancelled
• Train is running late by more than 3 hours, and you surrender the ticket before departure
• Passenger not accommodated in case of RAC/WL tickets
• Coach not attached, or class of travel not available

❗ How to Claim:

• Visit any PRS counter for cancellation
• In case of cancellation after train departure, fill TDR Form at the counter
• You may also file a manual TDR if unable to travel for valid reasons

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📌 Refund Timeframe & Conditions

Scenario	Refund Type	Process Required	Time Limit
Train Cancelled	Full refund	Auto for E-tickets / At counter	Within 3 days
Train >3 hrs late, passenger not travel	Full refund	TDR (E-ticket) / Cancel at PRS	Before departure
Passenger not accommodated (RAC/WL)	Full refund	TDR / Counter claim	Within 3 days
I-Ticket cancellation	Full refund	Must cancel at PRS counter	Before departure

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🛑 COVID-19 Special Provision (During Lockdowns)

• Full refund was granted for all tickets booked during lockdown or for trains cancelled due to COVID-19 from March–June 2025
• Special relaxation applied for long-distance & festival special trains that were cancelled

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💡 Tips

• Always keep a copy of the ticket and cancellation receipt
• Use IRCTC’s TDR Tracker to monitor refund status
• Refunds for E-Tickets are usually processed within 5–7 working days
• For I-Tickets and counter tickets, refund is issued in cash or credited to bank depending on the mode of refund requested

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Would you like help filing a TDR, checking refund status, or seeing the latest refund rules for festival special trains or dynamic fares?