Indian Railways is preparing to roll out a new feature that will let passengers change the travel date of confirmed tickets online without paying extra charges. The update, expected to take effect in January 2026, will be available through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website and mobile app.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently announced that the move aims to simplify ticket management for passengers and reduce the need for cancellations. The upcoming feature will allow travellers to directly reschedule their confirmed tickets instead of cancelling and rebooking them.
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Current Cancellation Charges
At present, passengers who wish to alter their journey must cancel their tickets and purchase new ones, often incurring cancellation charges. For example, cancelling a confirmed ticket between 48 and 12 hours before departure results in a 25% deduction in fare. The deduction increases to 50% if the cancellation occurs closer to the scheduled departure time.
How Rescheduling Will Work
Under the new system, passengers will have the option to modify their travel date online, provided seats are available on the desired date. If the fare on the new date is higher, they will need to pay only the difference. If the fare remains the same or is lower, no additional fee will be applied.
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Railway officials stated that this rescheduling feature will be integrated with IRCTC’s central reservation system in real time. To use it, passengers will log in to their IRCTC account, select their existing booking, and choose a new date. The system will then verify seat availability and instantly update the ticket.
Officials added that this change is intended to save passengers both time and money, particularly those who travel frequently for work or personal reasons. It also aligns with Indian Railways’ ongoing digital transformation and service improvement initiatives.
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The Railways have recently introduced other changes aimed at increasing transparency and improving ticketing systems. Since October 1, only users with Aadhaar authentication can book general reservation tickets during the first 15 minutes after booking opens. Additionally, the advance reservation period for train bookings was shortened from 120 to 60 days last year to better manage actual travel demand.
