IRCTC Foreign Tourist Quota: Booking rules and charges
What's the story
The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) offers the facility of booking train tickets under the Foreign Tourist Quota on its app and website, to foreign tourists (including NRIs) holding a valid passport.
Such bookings can be done up to 365 days prior to the actual date of journey.
Here are booking rules, charges, and the cancellation policy for Foreign Tourist Quota tickets.
Rules (1)
Rules about beyond-ARP bookings and Registration charges
1) For bookings done beyond the prevailing ARP (Advance Reservation Period), berths are allocated at a later stage, ie. at the time of opening of ARP by Railways PRS (Passenger Reservation System). Users are informed about berth allocation through International SMS facility. Railways' current ARP is 120 days.
2) Registration and Profile upgradation charges for International/NRI passengers is Rs. 100 (exclusive of GST).
Rules (2)
Service charges and cancellation charges
3) In addition to the ticket fare, service charge of Rs. 200 (plus GST) per ticket is also charged on bookings done under the Foreign Tourist Quota.
4) In case of ticket cancellation, 50% of the fare is forfeited along with the prevailing cancellation charges.
5) If no berth is allotted by the PRS system, tickets are automatically canceled, and cancellation-details are sent on mobile/e-mail.
Rules (3)
Refund rules
6) If the booking amount (and service charges) are debited from a customer's account but the ticket is not issued, full amount is refunded back to the account linked to debit/credit card used for the transaction.
7) However, on account of the multiplicity of organizations involved in the online transactions process, IRCTC gives no guarantee whatsoever for the accuracy or timeliness of the refunds.