What to do if you lose your train ticket? How to get duplicate ticket and how much will be charged, know the complete rules of Railways

When the date of travel by train is near and you suddenly find out that your confirmed ticket purchased from the reservation counter has been lost, stolen or has been torn while keeping it in your pocket, then it is natural for any passenger to feel nervous. Often people have a fear that they will not be able to travel without a ticket or the TTE in the train will consider them as ticketless and impose a heavy fine and will drop them at the next station. If your ticket is booked online i.e. through IRCTC website or app, then it is very easy to re-print the Electronic Reservation Slip (ERS) or show the SMS received on the mobile. But the real problem is faced by those passengers who had purchased paper tickets from the PRS counter of the railway station.

If this has happened to you too, then there is no need to panic at all. Indian Railways has a very clear and transparent legal provision for lost, mutilated or misplaced counter tickets. Under Railway Passenger Reservation Rules, any passenger can get an official ‘Duplicate Ticket’ issued from the railway counter by paying a nominal fee and can complete the journey sitting on his seat without any legal hindrance. Let us understand what is the entire process of issuing duplicate tickets, what rules apply before and after chart preparation and how much will be charged from your pocket for this.

If your ticket is lost and the reservation chart of the train has not been prepared yet, then the process of making a duplicate ticket is the easiest and most economical. Usually the first reservation chart is prepared 4 hours before the departure time of the train.

If you reach the reservation counter (PRS Counter) of the railway station before the chart is prepared, you will have to pay the following fixed charges:

• Second & Sleeper Class: per passenger ₹50 A nominal fee of Rs.

• All other higher classes (AC Chair Car, 3AC, 2AC, 1AC, Executive Class etc.): per passenger ₹100 Fee of.

After paying this fee, the Chief Reservation Supervisor (CRS) will match your PNR and name in the system and print and hand over to you a valid duplicate ticket, stamped ‘Duplicate’.

Many times it happens that a passenger has left home for the station and loses his ticket on the way or in the station premises, when the reservation chart of the train has already been prepared. Even in such a situation, Railways gives you full rights to travel, but its rules become a little strict.

If you demand a duplicate ticket after the final chart of the train is prepared, then as per Railway rules:

1. In case of confirmed ticket: Total fare to the passenger 50% share Will have to be paid as fee. After depositing 50% fare, duplicate ticket will be issued from the counter.

2. In case of RAC tickets: The most important rule to be noted here is that if your ticket was RAC and the train has been charted, then any duplicate ticket issued on the lost RAC ticket after charting No Is done.

3. Waiting List (WL) Ticket: In case of loss of waiting ticket, a duplicate ticket is not available under any circumstances, because there is no right to travel on waiting ticket.

Many times the ticket is not lost, but gets mutilated due to getting wet in rain, getting bent in the pocket or being torn by a child. Railways provide special relief if you have a torn portion of the ticket on which the PNR number, train number and date of journey can be clearly read.

In case of damaged ticket:

• Before the chart is created: Only for sleeper on submission of torn ticket at the counter. ₹50 And for AC class ₹100 A new duplicate ticket is made immediately after charging a clerical fee of Rs.

• After the chart is created: If the chart has been prepared and you have a torn ticket, the Railways does not charge you 50% of the fare, but only 25% of total fare Collects tax and issues duplicate ticket. This rule applies equally to both confirmed and RAC mutilated tickets.

To get a duplicate ticket made by going to the reservation counter of the station, it is mandatory for you to have some basic information and identity card:

• PNR Number or Journey Details: If you have a photo of the ticket, or you remember the 10 digit PNR number, the task becomes much easier. If you do not remember even the PNR number, you will have to give the clerk accurate information about the train number, date of journey, boarding station, destination station and names and ages of all passengers written on the reservation form.

• Original Photo Identity Card (Original ID Proof): It is mandatory to show the original ID proof (like Aadhar Card, PAN Card, Voter ID, Driving License or Passport) of the main passenger in whose name the ticket was booked, which was to be carried during the journey.

• Written Application: An application has to be written on a plain paper in the name of the Chief Reservation Supervisor (CRS) of the station, in which the reason for losing the ticket and complete details of the journey have to be recorded.

This is a very interesting and relieving rule about which 90% of the passengers are not aware. Suppose, after the chart is prepared, you get a duplicate ticket made by paying 50% of the fare and start traveling in the train. During the journey or after getting off the train, you find your old lost original ticket in the pocket of a bag or purse at home.

In such a situation, you can take both your original ticket and duplicate ticket and present it at the railway counter before the scheduled time of reaching the destination station of train departure. Railways will match both your tickets and the 50% extra fee paid by you for getting the duplicate ticket will be refunded after deducting only the clerical fee of ₹ 50 or ₹ 100. The entire remaining extra amount will be refunded to you. Will be done.

If you have booked the ticket through IRCTC website, app or any third party app (like MakeMyTrip, Confirmtkt, Paytm etc.), then there is no need to go to any counter or get a duplicate ticket.

• You can show the IRCTC booking message (SMS/WhatsApp) received on your registered mobile or email to the TTE.

• You can re-download the PDF of the ticket anytime from ‘Booked Ticket History’ by logging into the IRCTC app or website.

• As per Government of India rules, the Virtual Reservation Message (VRM) shown on the mobile screen and the original Government ID card are considered completely valid and no railway employee can ask you for extra charges for the same. So next time whenever you lose your counter ticket, instead of getting worried, go straight to the main reservation center of the station and get your duplicate ticket made and travel without worry.