RAC Ticket: If your RAC ticket is confirmed then don’t panic. The Railways gives you every opportunity to travel. You can board the train with an RAC ticket. The Railways will assign you a half-seat on the side lower berth in the general coach. This means you’ll be able to travel comfortably, without any problems.
But if you have to cancel this ticket, do you get the full money back on cancellation or does the Railways charge more? let us tell you.
Cancellation time
You can cancel your RAC ticket up to 30 minutes before the train’s scheduled departure time. Here, “scheduled departure time” refers to the time the train is scheduled to depart from its first station, the origin station. Your boarding station’s time may be different, but the basis for cancellation is the time at that origin station. For example, if your train departs from Delhi at 8 am and your station is Lucknow, where it will arrive at 2 pm, cancellation is valid only until 7:30 pm, i.e., 30 minutes before 8 am in Delhi. After 30 minutes, cancellation will not be accepted and no refund will be granted. Therefore, always check the origin station time on the ticket. You can cancel easily on the IRCTC app or website.
Will you get any refund?
When you cancel 30 minutes in advance, the Railways will give you a full refund but will deduct a clerkage charge. This charge applies to each passenger. If your ticket is a RAC sleeper class, only ₹60 will be charged per passenger. For example, if you booked tickets for two people, ₹60 will be deducted from each passenger, totaling ₹120. No GST is charged on sleeper. However, if the ticket is an AC class, such as First AC, Second AC, or Third AC RAC, ₹60 plus GST will be deducted per passenger. The GST charge may vary slightly depending on tax rules, but the basic charge is ₹60. This charge is deducted from the refund amount, and the remaining amount will be credited to your account within 3-5 days.
With an RAC ticket, you can travel without worry. The Railways ensures that you get a seat, whether it’s a half-berth or a full berth later. Just be sure to check for cancellations in a timely manner and stay in touch with your ticket checker. If you have any doubts, you can ask the help desk at the station or the IRCTC helpline.