IRCTC Train Ticket Cancellation New Rules: How OTP-Based Refund Works

Indian Railways has introduced an OTP (one-time password)-based refund by Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) to ensure speedy and safe refund for passengers. The OTP based refund system will applicable be for reserved e-tickets which are cancelled as well as for fully wait-listed dropped tickets. The refund system has already been implemented by IRCTC. The refund amount will be applicable against cancelled or waitlisted ticket booked by around 1.7 lakh authorized agents.

According to IRCTC, the new refund system will ensure more transparency. The aim is to streamline the cancellation process along with a timely refund. While the amount is refunded within four-five days if a ticket is booked by the passenger, at times it would take as much as three weeks to receive the refund when booked by an agent, a government official explained.

OTP-Based Train Ticket  Cancellation: How Will It Work

• When customers cancels a reserved e-ticket, they will receive an OTP on the mobile number provided at the time of booking.
• The customers will also receive a message mentioning the refund amount.
• The passenger needs to share the OTP with the agent who booked the ticket for receiving the refund.
• The same procedure is applicable for fully wait-listed dropped ticket, said Indian Railways.
• While booking tickets in bulk, customers should provide the mobile number of one of the passengers to the IRCTC agent.
• According to IRCTC, passengers should make sure that the correct mobile number is provided to the IRCTC authorised agent at the time of booking the train e-ticket, in order to avail the benefit of the new system.
• Passengers should also ensure that the authorised IRCTC agent records his or her correct mobile number correctly for booking IRCTC e-tickets.
• The new OTP based refund for fully waitlisted dropped tickets or ancelled tickets, is applicable only if the e-ticket is booked through IRCTC authorised agents.