NEW DELHI, JUL 27 (PTI): Indian Railways does not maintain zone-wise records of revenue generated through ticket cancellations and forfeited fares from uncancelled waitlisted tickets.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared this information in the Rajya Sabha on July 24, in a written reply to a question from Congress MP Chandrakant Handore.
Handore had sought zone-wise details of the revenue earned by the Railways exclusively through ticket cancellation fees and forfeited fares on uncancelled waitlisted tickets during the last three years.
Handore also raised concerns over the allegedly high revenue generated through passenger ticket cancellations and penalties.
According to the reply, Vaishnaw said that the cancellation charges and time limits applicable to confirmed, waitlisted and partially confirmed tickets for Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and newly introduced Amrit Bharat Express trains are different from those applicable to all other trains. He provided details of the cancellation rules for all other trains in a tabular format.
If a confirmed ticket is cancelled up to 48 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, the cancellation charges are Rs 240 for First AC/Executive Class, Rs 200 for Second AC/First Class, Rs 180 for Third AC/AC Chair Car/3A Economy Class, Rs 120 for Sleeper Class, and Rs 60 for Reserved Second Class.
If a confirmed ticket is cancelled between 48 hours and up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, 25 per cent of the fare is forfeited, subject to the prescribed minimum cancellation charges.
If it is cancelled between 12 hours and up to four hours before departure, 50 per cent of the fare is forfeited, subject to the prescribed minimum charges. But, if a confirmed ticket is cancelled less than four hours before the scheduled departure, no refund is granted. For waitlisted or partially confirmed tickets, cancellation is permitted up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train, with a clerkage charge deduction of Rs 60.
Vaishnaw also provided details of the cancellation charges and time limits applicable to confirmed tickets of Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and newly introduced Amrit Bharat Express trains.
According to the reply, there are three slabs of cancellation charges. If a confirmed ticket is cancelled at least 72 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, 25 per cent of the fare is forfeited.
If it is cancelled between 72 hours and up to eight hours before departure, 50 per cent of the fare is forfeited and no refund is granted if the ticket is cancelled less than eight hours before the scheduled departure of the train.
Explaining the rationale behind the separate cancellation norms for these trains, Vaishnaw said, “Separate refund rules for confirmed tickets of these trains have been made to discourage speculative bookings by unscrupulous people.”
“Also, this has reduced the minimum cancellation charges for confirmed sleeper class tickets of newly introduced Amrit Bharat Express trains for certain distances compared with other train services,” he added.
According to Vaishnaw, there is no change in the cancellation time limit or charges applicable to waitlisted or partially confirmed tickets for these train services.
“Zone-wise revenue earned by Indian Railways exclusively through ticket cancellation and forfeited fares on un-cancelled waitlisted tickets is not maintained separately,” he stated.
