Indian Railways is now going to introduce the facility for passengers to change the travel date of their booked confirmed train tickets. Previously, passengers often had to change their travel dates unexpectedly, forcing them to cancel their confirmed tickets and incur significant losses in the form of cancellation charges.
This process is not only expensive but also extremely inconvenient. Keeping these concerns in mind, the Railways is going to introduce this facility. According to NDTV, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav shared this information. He also explained the terms and conditions associated with this facility.
This facility will be implemented from January
According to reports, to address this issue and provide relief to passengers, Indian Railways is introducing a new policy. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav stated that starting January 2026, passengers will be able to change the travel dates of their confirmed train tickets online, at no additional charge. Currently, to change the date, passengers must cancel their old ticket, which incurs a fee based on the cancellation date, and then book a new ticket. The minister described this system as neither in the best interest of passengers nor fair, stating that instructions have been issued to implement a new, passenger-friendly policy.
What do travelers need to know?
This change will bring significant relief to millions of passengers. However, the Railway Minister clarified two important points. First, there will be no guarantee of ticket confirmation for the new date. This will depend entirely on seat availability. Second, if the new ticket fare is higher, passengers will have to pay the difference.
What do the current rules say?
Prior to this new change, current cancellation rules were quite strict. A 25 percent fee is charged for ticket cancellations between 48 and 12 hours before travel. The fee increases further for cancellations between 12 and 4 hours before travel. No refunds are granted after the reservation chart is prepared. This new move by the Railways will provide significant relief to millions of passengers whose travel plans frequently change and who previously faced significant cancellation charges. This policy is an important step towards making Indian Railways’ services more passenger-centric.
