Indian Railways : Big decision by Railways; No refund if ticket is cancelled

The Indian Railways has made an important decision for passengers by changing the ticket cancellation and refund rules for Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat Express. The rules for these premium trains have now been made stricter, and passengers will need to be more careful when canceling tickets. These new rules have been implemented specifically for the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and Amrit Bharat Express trains.

According to the new rules, if a confirmed ticket is canceled 8 hours before the train's departure, no refund will be given. Previously, for other regular and express trains, a refund was available if the ticket was canceled up to 4 hours before departure. However, now for Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat Express, this limit has been extended to 8 hours, and if the ticket is canceled within that period, the entire amount will be forfeited.

According to the previously applicable rules, if the ticket was canceled 72 hours before the train's departure, a 25% fee was deducted. If the ticket was canceled between 72 to 8 hours, a 50% fee was charged. However, for premium trains like Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat, the refund fee was already higher. Now, if canceled within 8 hours, the refund has been completely stopped.

According to the information provided by railway officials, these new rules have been implemented due to the premium nature and operational structure. Vande Bharat Sleeper and Amrit Bharat Express trains run with 100% confirmed berths. These trains do not have RAC or waiting list facilities. This means that every passenger is given a full guarantee of ticket booking.

In such a situation, if the ticket is canceled at the last moment, a new passenger is not found for that seat, and thus the railway suffers a financial loss. It has been stated that the railway has made the refund rules stricter to avoid this loss. Meanwhile, the country's first Amrit Bharat sleeper coach train has been introduced into service from January 2026. Strict refund rules have been applied to this new train from the beginning, and the railway has appealed to passengers to make reservations only after confirming their travel while booking tickets.