Indian Railways scraps flexi fare: Will you get a refund?

Indian Railways on Friday announced the scrapping of flexi-fare completely in 15 trains and partially in 32 trains, Zee Biz reported.

However, the passengers are yet to get the benefits from rationalised flexi-fare scheme, the report added.

The Indian Railways has an advanced booking period of 120 days. So the tickets for the month of November, December, January and February have either been already sold or have been put up for sale. Also, the public transporter will have to make changes in the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) accordingly. Only, thereafter the tickets without flexi fare will be available for sale. This means if you have planned your journey in any of these trains in March, you will be able to book cheaper tickets.

"Changes shall be implemented from Advance Reservation Period (ARP) i.e. 4 months after making necessary changes in Passenger Reservation System, on an experimental basis for six months to be further extended after assessing its outcome," it has said.

But will you be getting a refund for the tickets booked well before the railways flexi-fare scrapping announcement?

In all possible scenario, the answer is no. Just because the benefits of new flexi-fare rules will be applicable on tickets sold in March. So, if you have booked your tickets in advance, you will not be getting refund for the extra amount you paid under the flexi-fare scheme.

Railways has reduced flexi fares from 1.5 to 1.4 times the base ticket fare in 101 trains, Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

This article originally appeared in ZeeBiz.com