IRCTC RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) Ticket Booking Rules You Need To Know

IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) offers online ticket booking and cancellation facility on it's official website- irctc.co.in.  At the time of ticket booking, if all the confirmed berths are sold out, the passenger might be placed on a RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) list. According to IRCTC's website, RAC ticket is technically a train ticket with confirmed seat but wait listed berth. It ensures certainty of travel but does not guarantee a berth. A berth is split into two seats for 2 RAC ticket holders.  

Here are 5 rules you should know about RAC tickets booking and cancellation:

1. A confirmed berth is allocated to the person who reserves an RAC ticket if passengers who already have a confirmed ticket cancels his/her ticket or do not turn up before the train departure.

2. In case of a last minute cancellation or upgradation of a confirmed ticket of another passenger, an RAC ticket holder is given the empty berth.

3. A passenger can cancel RAC online ticket up to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. No refund is permissible after that, said IRCTC.

4. In case of online RAC ticket, if the reservation charts have been prepared, online TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt) is required to be filed for obtaining Refund.

5. In case, on a party e-ticket or a family e-ticket issued for travel of more than one passenger, some passengers have confirmed reservation and others are on RAC or waiting list, full refund of fare, less clerkage is admissible for confirmed passengers also subject to the condition that the ticket is cancelled online or online TDR is filed for all the passengers up to thirty minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.