IRCTC announces New Rules and Advance Booking Period – Read More for the Breakdown
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has announced a few important rules for its passengers that are effective immediately from 1 May 2025. Several new rules and changes in economy are revealed in general for the consumers, of which the ticketing and travel policies for Indian Railway are to be noted before impact.
From 1 May 2025, passengers with a Waiting List ticket will no longer be allowed to travel in Sleeper or AC Coaches. The new rules suggest that those with yet to confirm tickets on the day of the travel will only be allowed to travel through the General compartment (i.e) Unreserved Compartment.
Fines for those who break the rule and board other compartments will be INR 250 for Sleeper Coach and INR 440 for AC Coach.
The advance booking period has also been reduced for convenience and availability from 120 days to 60 days. This means passengers opting for planning can only book their tickets from a window of 60 days and not for the previous 4 month period.
The IRCTC has also announced the OTP rule to strengthen the User Verification and security. Every ticket that is booked online either through a website or app will be verified through an One Time Password (OTP) as a part of verifying their phone number.
The time window for cancellation refund time is also reduced, a huge step ahead for the digital users from 5-7 business days to now a 48 hours period. An upgraded step towards better banking coordination for users booking online and for those booking at the counters through payment linked to the bank accounts.
The changes will be in direction from 1 May 2025, a short window that posts challenges and difficulties for last minute travellers and for those public who are not aware of the digital changes.
