IMPORTANT: IRCTC to refund e-tickets of trains cancelled due to Coronavirus automatically

In view of the increasing number of coronavirus patients in the country, the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation on Monday announced that the refund of e-tickets on cancellation of trains will be processed automatically by the railways. Earlier on Sunday, the national transporter announced stopping all the trains, except the goods trains, till March 31.

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Earlier, in its bid to ease the situation, Indian Railways announced it would relax refund rules for tickets booked under Passenger Reservation System (PRS). It has advised passengers to avail of this facility and avoids coming to the railway station in person. The relaxation is for passengers who booked tickets to travel between March 21- April 15, 2020.

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Railways relax refund rules

Railways on Saturday cautioned people against travelling, cancelled more than 3,000 trains, relaxed refund rules, besides shutting down its museums and parks amid a spurt in coronavirus cases. It urged people to avoid or postpone all non-essential travel to avoid crowding on trains and encourage social distancing. 

It relaxed refund rules from March 21 to June 21 for PRS counter-generated tickets in view of the coronavirus threat. For trains cancelled by Railways for the journey period March 21 -June 21, refund across the counter can be taken on submission of the ticket up to three months from the date of the journey instead of the present three days or 72 hours rule, an order said.

In cases where the train is not cancelled but passenger wants to cancel his or her journey, then the TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) can be filed within three months from the date of the journey at the station. (instead of the extant rule of 3 days), the order stated. For passengers who want to cancel tickets through 139, can get refund across the counter within 30 days from the date of the journey instead of up to the scheduled departure of the train.

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(with PTI inputs)