With the festive season in full swing, millions of passengers who are returning home to celebrate Diwali and Chhath Puja, the demand has been on the rise, which, in turn, has moved Indian Railways' booking charts to the sky and ticket availability down to the ground.
Indian Railways has introduced several special trains, both reserved and unreserved, to control the rush.
But there’s one question: what if one of the tickets under a single PNR remains on the waiting list?
Typically, passengers can book up to six seats under one PNR number. During heavy demand, it’s common that out of multiple bookings, only a few get confirmed, while others remain on the waiting list at the time of chart preparation. So, can the passenger with the waitlisted ticket still board the train?
Speaking to Indianexpress.com, a senior railway official clarified, “Passengers holding a partially confirmed ticket under a single PNR can travel together and board the train.”
This means that if a person books three tickets under one PNR and two get confirmed while one remains waitlisted, all three passengers can still travel together.
Indian Railways’ refund and cancellation rules you should know
Railways observed that in the case of a party or family e-ticket (containing both confirmed and waitlisted passengers), IR provides the option of a full refund of the entire fare, less a nominal cancellation fee (of Rs 20 plus GST/per head). This is applicable when the ticket is cancelled online, or when it is filed as a Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) of all the passengers at least four hours before the departure of the train.
But after the original chart has been made, passengers can have a full refund without any cancellation form as long as the ticket is cancelled online or a TDR is filed on behalf of the complete group after charting, but not later than thirty minutes before departure.
