Counter Ticket Cancellation in Lockdown: Procedure and Rules
The nationwide lockdown has been extended third May driving all the rail ticket holders crazy and perplexed with questions like how to cancel train ticket in lockdown or how to cancel window ticket during lockdown.The lockdown is imposed by the government because of Coronavirus infection creating havoc globally. Keeping in mind the importance of social distancing, the Indian Railways has completely shut the operation of passenger trains. This has led to railway ticket cancellation in mass. Railways will cancel 39 lakh tickets booked for trips from April 15 to May 3.Earlier, during the first lockdown phase the railways had allowed booking of tickets for the dates after April 14. Passengers booked tickets for the date beyond April 14 in the hope that trains would run. As the first lockdown phase came to end; the passengers had to face disappointment as the railways clarified that bookings were never stopped but passenger trains will not be continued for any journey.
IRCTC Refund during Lockdown
Keeping in mind the refund of tickets for train cancellation due to COVID 19; IRCTC requested the ticket holders not to cancel their tickets or make any effort to cancel ticket online as it would lead to deduction of certain charges and partial refund will be credited. Further, IRCTC clearly stated the fact that the passengers will be granted full refund and their tickets will be automatically cancelled. This was good news for the online users who had booked their tickets, but left behind a major issue for the PRS counter ticket holders who had booked tickets physically from the station. Where train ticket cancellation during lockdown was relaxing for online tickets; it created multiple doubts and confusion related to counter tickets. Passengers who booked their ticket through the railway counters were worried about how to cancel counter ticket in lockdown as they were not allowed to visit station during the lockdown.
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Counter Ticket Passengers can take Refund till 31 July 2020
If you’re puzzled on how to cancel counter ticket in lockdown, then it’s the time to take a deep breath and relax! According to railway sources, passengers who have booked tickets through the counter will be able to take refunds till 31st July 2020. According to PTI news, after the announcement of Lockdown extension the Railway board has taken the decision to cancel tickets for cancelled trains by 31 July 2020. Earlier on March 23, the railways had extended the deadline for taking the cancel ticket for 3 months.
How to cancel Train Ticket during Lockdown
Here is the complete process of IRCTC counter ticket cancellation and how to track refund status.
Login to IRCTC website and enter the details:
Users who have booked tickets through PRS ticket counter can visit operations.irctc.co.in . Here, the user has to enter his PNR number, train number along with captcha code. Confirm your choice of cancelling tickets and tap the submit button.
Enter the OTP:
An OTP will be sent on the registered mobile number. Enter the OTP and tap on submit button.
Click Cancel Ticket Option
After entering the OTP, PNR details will appear on the user’s screen along with the Cancel Ticket option. Click on the “Cancel Ticket” button and the railway counter ticket cancellation process will come to an end followed by a message.
Details will be received via SMS
After the ticket cancellation process is completed, the passenger will get a confirmation message on the registered mobile number. The message will have the details of booked tickets related to cancellation and refund. It will be possible to cancel the confirmed ticket 4 hours before the journey time and 30 minutes before if the status is in the waiting list. At present, due to lockdown, you can cancel the ticket even after 90 days from the time of booking.
Visit the counter within 90 Days of Cancelation:
After the cancellation procedure is over, you will have to collect your refund from the nearest PRS counter or the nearest satellite PRS counter. It is mandatory to take your original ticket. As there is a lockdown announced in the country, the time period to get a refund from the counter has been increased to 90 days.