Stricter cancellation rules for Vande Bharat Sleeper, Amrit Bharat II; no refund within 8 hours

New Delhi: Passengers of Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and Amrit Bharat II trains will not receive any refund if they cancel their confirmed tickets less than eight hours before the scheduled departure.

According to a notification dated January 16 issued by the Railway Ministry, the cancellation charge for these trains will be 25 per cent of the fare if confirmed tickets are cancelled more than 72 hours in advance.

The ministry has amended the Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Ticket and Refund of Fare) Rules, 2015, and notified stricter cancellation rules for the Vande Bharat Sleeper Express as well as Amrit Bharat II trains.

“If the ticket is presented for cancellation less than eight hours before the scheduled departure of the train, no refund shall be granted,” the notification said.

In the case of other trains, confirmed tickets are not eligible for a refund if cancelled less than four hours before the scheduled departure.

“If the ticket is presented for cancellation more than 72 hours in advance of the scheduled departure of the train, the cancellation charge shall be 25 per cent of the fare,” the notification said.

It added, “If the ticket is presented for cancellation between 72 hours and up to eight hours before the scheduled departure of the train, the cancellation charge shall be 50 per cent of the fare.” For other trains, 25 per cent of the fare is forfeited if a confirmed ticket is cancelled between 48 hours and 12 hours before the scheduled departure, while 50 per cent cancellation charge is applicable if done between 12 hours and four hours before the train’s scheduled departure.

Explaining the amended rules, a senior railway official said, “This means that once you get a confirmed ticket, the minimum cancellation charge is 25 per cent of the ticket cost, and it can go up to 100 per cent depending on the time of cancellation.”

He added, “In Vande Bharat Sleeper as well as Amrit Bharat II, every passenger is guaranteed a confirmed berth, unlike other trains. In other trains, if a family of, let’s say, six members get only three confirmed berths, the remaining three may travel in a waiting status while sharing the berth with other family members. In Vande Bharat Sleeper and Amrit Bharat II, such a family will either get six confirmed berths or none at all.” The official clarified that an Amrit Bharat train launched in 2026 have been named as Amrit Bharat II and these reservation and cancellation rules will also be applied to them.

A railway’s circular dated January 15, 2025 said that an Amrit Bharat train introduced from or after January 2026 onwards will be known as Amrit Bharat II.

“As of now, a pair of Vande Bharat Sleeper trains and nine pairs of Amrit Bharat II trains were flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 17 and 18, 2026 and these new rules will be applicable to these trains,” the official said.