Good news for passengers! Indian Railways to allow changing travel dates on confirmed tickets from..., know benefits, new policy

The biggest problem with travellers is that their plans change a lot and very quickly. To eliminate this issue, the Indian Railways has come up with a new policy which will allow travellers to make changes in their plans without losing money. From January 2026, passengers will be able to change the date of travel online without any fee, even with the confirmed train tickets, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told NDTV.

Until now, passengers had to cancel their tickets and book a new one in case of any changes in the dates of travelling, which would cost them around half or any amount close to it, depending on the cancellation charges, which depend on how many days before the passenger is cancelling. Doing this would not only be a hassle for the passenger but also cost a lot. “This system is unfair and not in the interest of passengers,” Vaishnaw said. He gave a positive affirmation that the railways have received instructions to implement the new, passenger-friendly changes.

Further criticising the old system, the Railway Minister said that whether the new tickets will be booked has no guarantee, as there’s a dependency factor. In this case, the ticket may cost more to the passenger if the available ticket has a higher price. But, with the new policy, millions of passengers will get relief from ticket booking, extra costs and much more hassle as the rescheduling of the train can be done in an easier way without any impact on the journey or its cost.

According to the current rules, cancelling a confirmed ticket 48 to 12 hours before departure results in a 25 per cent deduction from the fare. The fee increases for cancellations between 12 and 4 hours before departure. Once the reservation chart is prepared, refunds for cancellations are generally not granted.