Railways extends to 9 months time to claim refunds for trains cancelled from Mar 21-Jun 31 last year

New Delhi, Jan 07: The Ministry of Railways has extended the time limit for cancellation of counter tickets for train journeys between March 21 and June 31, 2020 from the present six months to nine months in view of the coronavirus crisis.

The ministry had earlier extended the facility from three days to six months when the coronavirus pandemic had led to the cancellation of all regular trains.

"Ministry of Railways has decided to extend the time limit beyond six months and up to nine months from the date of journey for cancellation of PRS counter tickets and refund of fare across reservation counters for the journey period March 21, 2020 to June 7, 2020. It is applicable only for regular time tabled trains cancelled by Railways," the ministry said in a statement.

"After lapse of six months from the date of journey, many passengers may have deposited the tickets to Claims Office of Zonal Railways through TDR or through general application along with original tickets. Full refund of fare on such PRS counter tickets shall also be allowed for such passengers," it said.

Soon after the lockdown was announced in March and regular train services were suspended due to the pandemic, the time limit for ticket cancellation was extended from three days to three months and in May it was extended to six months.

This was done to restrict the number of passengers at counters and prevent transmission of the coronavirus.