Indian Railways refund: Check your IRCTC refund status real time on refunds.indianrail.gov.in; refund policy, other details

Indian Railways refund: We always prefer to book our Indian Railways train tickets in advance using Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website irctc.co.in. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, many of us have to cancel the ticket either on or before the journey day.  It also happens that your money gets deducted while booking the ticket but the ticket does not get booked. In that case, you need to keep the transaction number with you. If the money did not get deposited back into your account within 5 to 7 days, you can mail the IRCTC at care@irctc.co.in or you can tweet to their official Twitter handle @IRCTCofficial or to @RailwaySeva. You can also call on IRCTC helpline number 0755-6610661 , 0755-3934141 (Language: Hindi and English).

Sometimes we get the refund well on time or sometimes it gets delayed due to the reasons unknown to us. To improve its services and provide better refund solutions, Indian Railways has allowed its commuters to track their refunds online at its website refunds.indianrail.gov.in. You can check the real-time status of your refund process.

Here's how to check refund status:
* Go to refunds.indianrail.gov.in
* On the right-hand upper side, click on 'Check refund status'
* Input your PNR number and date of journey
* Submit to get the status

You can also check the refund status using your 'Refund Registration Number'.
* Go to refunds.indianrail.gov.in
* On the right-hand upper side, click on 'Check refund status'
* Select 'Refund Reg. No.'
* Input your 'Refund Registration Number' and 'Reopen Count'
* Submit to get the status

The IRCTC refund is generally gets processed within 5 to 7 working days. The IRCTC has some charges in place in case of ticket cancellation.

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* Cancellation of e-Tickets before charting preparation of the train:

If a confirmed ticket is cancelled more than 48 hrs before the scheduled departure of the train, flat cancellation charges shall be deducted @ Rs.240/- for AC First Class/Executive Class, Rs.200/- for AC 2 Tier/First Class, Rs. 180 for AC 3 Tier/AC Chair car/ AC 3 Economy, Rs.120/- for Sleeper Class and Rs.60/- for Second Class. Cancellation charges are per passenger. If a confirmed ticket is cancelled within 48 hrs and up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, cancellation charges shall be 25% of the fare subject to the minimum flat rate mentioned in the above clause. Less than 12 hours and up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train up to chart preparation which is earlier, 50% of the fare paid subject to the minimum cancellation charges. Note the Chart preparation time is the time for the chart preparation from the Train Originating Station or from the previous chart Preparation station.

* Cancellation of e-Tickets after the preparation of Reservation charts:

For Normal User:- E-ticket cannot be cancelled after chart preparation. Users are requested to use the online TDR filing for such cases and track Status of the refund case through tracking service provided by IRCTC. TDR can be filed as per Railway rules:
* No refund of fare shall be admissible on the tickets having confirmed reservation in case the ticket is not cancelled or TDR not filed online up to four hours before the scheduled departure of the train.
* No refund of fare shall be admissible on RAC e-tickets in case the ticket is not cancelled or TDR not filed online up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
* In case, on a party e-ticket or a family e-ticket issued for travel of more than one passenger, some passengers have confirmed reservation and others are on RAC or waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage, shall be admissible for confirmed passengers also subject to the condition that the ticket shall be cancelled online or online TDR shall be filed for all the passengers up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.

* For Tatkal Tickets Booked as e-Tickets:

No refund will be granted on cancellation of confirmed Tatkal tickets. For contingent cancellation and waitlisted Tatkal ticket cancellations, charges will be deducted as per existing Railway rules. Partial cancellation of Tatkal e-tickets is allowed .

* Cancellation of e-tickets in case of trains cancelled:

If the train is marked as "CANCELLED" in PRS due to breaches, floods, accidents etc. full refund is permissible in case the ticket is cancelled within three days of the scheduled departure of the train. In case of e-tickets, such cancellations can be done by the customer through Internet.