Indian Railways passengers ALERT! Don’t cancel your tickets, IRCTC to give full refund

Indian Railways passengers who booked tickets for the coming weeks and will not be able to travel due to the country-wide lockdown are advised to not cancel their tickets as they will get a full refund. The IRCTC has asked people not to cancel the tickets they have booked online for those trains that have been cancelled and assured them that they will get full refund automatically.

Earlier, the railways had extended to three months the time to cancel counter tickets till June 21. The railway subsidiary, IRCTC, said in a statement that doubts have been raised regarding cancellation of e-tickets subsequent to the halting of railway passenger trains.

"No cancellation required on the part of user. If user cancels his ticket, there are chances he may get less refund. Hence, passengers are advised not to cancel e- tickets on their own for those trains which have been cancelled by railways," it said.

"Refund amount will be credited to the user account used for booking of e-tickets automatically. No charges are deducted by the railways in case of train cancellation," the statement added.

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The railways had cancelled all trains till March 31 in view of coronavirus outbreak. However, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi announcing a nation-wide lockdown till April 15, the national transporter is unlikely to resume services anytime soon. 

The aviation industry has also been hit hard with all domestic and international flights grounded for now. Air India alone is expected to incur losses to the tune of Rs 30-35 crore per day following the suspension of operations in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, according to a source.

"We will not be operating a single commercial flight along with other domestic carriers as per the government's order, yet our daily losses will still be in the range of Rs 30-35 crore. Though there will not be ceratin costs such as fuel, ground handling, airport fee during the suspension of oprations, we still will have to make payments towards salaries and allowances, lease rentals, minimum maintenance, besides the interest payment, among others," a source was quoted as saying by PTI.