Indian Railways Train Ticket Cancellation Charges: The government said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the Ministry of Railways levies 'clerking' fees on all waitlisted tickets and the revenue received from all sources, including cancellations, is spent on maintenance and operation-related work.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply to questions asked about the cancellation fee on waitlisted tickets, "As per the Railway Passenger (Ticket Cancellation and Fare Refund) Rules 2015, clerkage fees are levied on cancellation of all waitlisted tickets canceled through IRCTC website."

Will train ticket cancellation charges be waived?

Samajwadi Party MP Iqra Chaudhary raised the issue of levying cancellation fees on waitlisted tickets canceled by the Railways due to lack of seats in trains.

Chaudhary sought to know "whether the government plans to waive such cancellation charges on the said waitlisted tickets canceled by the railways."

Why are waiting tickets issued?

Vaishnav said waitlisted tickets are issued to fill the vacancy arising out of the cancellation of 'confirmed/RAC' tickets during the reservation period.

"Besides this, waitlisted ticket passengers also have the option of getting 'upgraded' under the updated scheme or transferred to an alternate train under the Vikalp scheme," he said.

Asked if the government has data on the revenue collected from cancellation charges, Vaishnav said, "The amount collected due to ticket cancellation is not kept separately."

Waiting List and RAC Ticket Refund Rules

If your ticket is still on the RAC and waiting list even after the chart is prepared and you cancel your ticket 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time of the train, then a cancellation charge of Rs 60 will be levied in the sleeper class. Whereas in the AC class, Rs 65 will be deducted. The remaining amount will be refunded.