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Recently, Indian Railways changed the ticket cancellation and refund rules for some of its premium trains, especially the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and the Amrit Bharat II trains. These trains are different from regular ones because every passenger gets a fully confirmed seat, and there are no wait-listed or RAC tickets.
New Rules for Last-Minute Cancellation of Tickets
Under the new rules, if you cancel your confirmed ticket less than eight hours before the scheduled departure time, you won't get any refund at all. This is a stricter policy than before, when passengers could still receive a partial refund even if they cancelled closer to departure.
Changes in Refund
Here's how the updated refund charges now work:
• More than 72 hours before departure: You'll be charged a 25% cancellation fee, and the rest is refunded.
• Between 72 and 8 hours before departure: You'll lose 50% of the fare.
• Less than 8 hours before departure: No refund, you lose the entire fare.
These new rules were introduced by the Railway Ministry in amendments to the existing passenger ticketing rules. They took effect in January 2026.
Why are the New rules implemented?
The main reason for this change is to reduce last-minute cancellations and to make sure that seats on these trains are not left empty when they could have been given to another confirmed passenger. Because these premium trains always have confirmed seating, a late cancellation usually means the berth stays unused, and the railways lose revenue.
Railway officials are advising passengers to finalise travel plans early before booking, and if they must cancel, to do it well ahead of time so that they don't lose their money.
