Indian Railways - Auto cancellation of e-ticket.

A few weeks back, we had booked tickets for 105 Madgaon CSTM Express using Indian Railways official website (www.irctc.co.in). The tickets were in waiting list at the time of chart preparation but with e-ticket in tow, we decided to get along with the journey anyway.

However it was a bit confusing when the chart was prepared and we couldnt find our names anywhere in it. We knew that we were as good as any wait-listed passenger and after cursing the railways for mismanagement, decided to get on with the journey.

We tried to take the matter up with the TTE, who was obviously busy with hordes of other passengers ready to lunge onto his guts. It was an extended weekend and the train was jam-packed with polka dotted, guitar wielding Goa bound revellers. We were bound for Ratnagiri and decided to occupy some corner of the train for the 5 hour journey.


Now for all those who are not aware:

The railways have this system of automatic cancellation e-tickets booked through their website (www.irctc.co.in). When e-tickets are in wait-listed status at the time of chart preparation, they are auto-cancelled and the amount is refunded back to the account after deducting the appropriate cancellation charges.

We just have to mail them the ticket details to initiate refund process. For details, refer http://www.irctc.co.in/Waitlisted_E-Ticket.html

On hindsight, its easy to guess that such rules are necessary but its an irony that most of the users are often caught unawares. This is a case of grave mis-communication on the part of railways. I hope they intimate about this rule as a warning at the time of ticket booking itself than confuse the passengers at the time of boarding.

All said and done, I am mighty impressed with the functioning of railways online portal. They not only got back with a personalized mail, but also gave me a quick refund. The amount got credited to my account, all within 5 days of the journey. Keep it up railways!

Hope this helps.