Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) allows passengers to cancel tickets booked on railway counters through its website irctc.co.in. A cancellation charge will be applicable depending on the time when the ticket was booked. If you are a registered user of irctc.co.in, you can log in to cancel any tickets booked on counters online instead of rushing to the counters.

(Also read: How to register as a new user online on IRCTC: Follow these simple steps)

Here’s how to cancel counter tickets online:

  • Visit irctc.co.in. Under the Trains section, go to Cancel ticket and choose Counter ticket as the option
  • Enter PNR Number, Train number along with Captcha. Check the box to confirm that rules and procedure are read
  • After clicking on submit an OTP will be sent to the mobile number provided at the time of booking, enter the received OTP and click submit
  • After the OTP is validated PNR details will be displayed on the screen
  • Verify the details and click on ‘Cancel Ticket’ for full cancellation. Refund amount due will be displayed on the screen
  • An SMS will be sent with PNR and refund details: ‘Your PNR xxxxxxxxxx has been cancelled. Collect refund amt xxxxx from journey commencing station or nearby satellite PRS locations. Ref. Terms & conditions’
  • For tickets cancelled (including return journey tickets) before 24 hours of scheduled train departure time: Refund of fare as permissible can be collected on submission of original PRS counter ticket from any PRS counter of Indian Railways up to 4 hours before the scheduled departure time of the train in case of confirmed tickets and up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure time of train in case of RAC/waitlisted tickets
  • For tickets cancelled (including return journey tickets) between 24 hours and up to 4 hours for the confirmed tickets and up to thirty minutes for RAC/waitlisted tickets before the scheduled departure time: Refund of cancelled PRS counter tickets through IRCTC website or 139 at present is permitted only at the journey commencing station or nearby satellite PRS locations by surrendering original journey ticket. Please check the convenience of collecting refund from journey commencing station before cancelling your ticket- During first two hours of the opening of PRS counters on the next day for the tickets for the trains whose scheduled departure as under: time is (i) between 1801 hours and 0600 hours.- Up to 4 hours after the scheduled departure of the train during the working hours of PRS counters/current counters/special counters where cancellation is permitted round the clock on the tickets for the trains whose scheduled departure time is (i) between 0601 hours and 1800 hours.  

(Also read: How to book e-tickets on IRCTC: Step-by-step easy guide)

Counter ticket cancellation rules:

  • This may be applicable only in case valid mobile number has been given at the time of booking
  • Cancellation of tickets and refund of fare may be permitted for PRS counter tickets in normal circumstances only and not in case of late running of trains/cancellation of train etc.
  • Online cancellation shall be permitted only up to 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train if ticket is fully confirmed
  • Online cancellation shall be permitted only up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train if ticket is RAC/Waitlist
  • Passenger details (name, age, gender, booking status, current status) and journey details will be displayed on the website
  • Once the passenger confirms full cancellation of PNR will be done and PNR will be marked as cancelled but not refunded in the system. Seat/berth will be released. Refund amount due will also be displayed to the passenger on website
  • All the privilege/duty pass/PTOs/complimentary pass tickets may be allowed to be cancelled through website. In the case of pass zero refund is permissible however, for validity of the pass for fresh booking the passenger shall approach the counter to get the pass re-validated by marking the same cancelled against the earlier booked tickets as per prescribed rule.

(Also read: How to cancel e-tickets on IRCTC: All you need to know about the process)

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Privilege Ticket Order (PTO) tickets are issued on 1/3rd of the total basic fares and normal cancellation charge is applicable in these tickets also. Therefore in many cases ticket value on PTOs is less than the cancellation charges therefore passengers may or may not cancel the tickets therefore cancellation across IRCTC website may be allowed in the case of PTOs also.

(Privilege Ticket Order’ is an authority issued in favour of a railway servant which may be exchanged for a passenger rail ticket on payment of one third of the normal fare.)