You will be surprised to know that Indian Railways earns crores of rupees not only from ticket booking but also from ticket cancellation. Recently a surprising revelation has been made in response to an RTI. Let us also tell you how much the Railways has earned from this and how much cancellation charge is charged on a ticket.
There is no doubt that Indian Railways has a huge contribution in the Indian economy. Lakhs of people travel every day in the trains of Indian Railways, which makes transportation easy in the country, due to which the Railways generates the highest revenue. But you will be surprised to know that Indian Railways earns crores of rupees not only from ticket booking but also from ticket cancellation. Recently a surprising revelation has been made in response to an RTI. Actually, Railways has given information about the earnings from canceled tickets of waiting list through an RTI reply. Let us also tell you how much the Railways has earned from this and how much cancellation charge is charged on a ticket.
Railways earned Rs 1229 crore from canceled tickets
According to information received from RTI, Indian Railways earned a total of Rs 1,229.85 crore from canceled tickets of waiting list for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Apart from this, in the month of January 2024 alone, Railways has earned an income of Rs 43 crore from a total of 45.86 lakh canceled tickets.
According to a report in The Hindu, this RTI was filed by Dr. Vivek Pandey, an RTI activist from Madhya Pradesh. Many more things have come to light in response to RTI. From these figures it has been revealed how much income Indian Railways has earned from canceled tickets year after year.
Earnings increased year after year
In the year 2021, a total of 2.53 crore waiting list tickets were cancelled, due to which the Railways earned a total of Rs 242.68 crore. Whereas in the year 2022 and 2023, 4.6 crore and 5.26 crore tickets were canceled respectively, due to which Railways earned Rs 439.16 crore and Rs 505 crore in both the years.
Huge earning in Diwali also
RTI also revealed that in the year 2023, during Diwali, between November 5 and November 12, people canceled 96.18 lakh railway tickets. This also includes people’s confirmed Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) tickets. And in the week of Diwali alone, Railways had earned a total of Rs 10.37 crore from canceled tickets.
How much does a ticket cost?
Reservation tickets are available in two ways in Indian Railways. One is railway counter ticket and the other is online e-ticket. According to IRCTC, if RAC or waiting list ticket is cancelled, Rs 60 is deducted from the refund. Whereas if the confirmed e-ticket is canceled 48 hours before the scheduled departure of the train, then the fare will be Rs 240 in AC first class, Rs 200 in AC-2 tier, Rs 180 in AC-3 tier, Rs 120 in sleeper and Rs 200 in second class. 60 rupees are deducted. Whereas if the confirmed ticket is canceled within 48-12 hours of the train schedule, then 25 percent of the fare is deducted and refunded.