What Is Partial Cancellation on IRCTC?
Partial cancellation lets you cancel one or more specific passengers from a group PNR without cancelling the entire ticket. The PNR stays active for the remaining passengers, who travel on their original berths unchanged.
This is useful when one person in a group cannot travel, a family member falls ill, or you booked extra tickets as backup and want to cancel the ones you don't need.
How to Do Partial Cancellation — Step by Step
- Go to irctc.co.in and log in to your account
- Click My Account → My Transactions → Booked Ticket History
- Find the PNR and click Cancel Ticket
- A list of all passengers on the PNR appears — uncheck the passengers you want to keep, check the ones you want to cancel
- Review the refund amount shown for the selected passengers
- Click Cancel Selected Passengers and confirm
- You will receive an email/SMS confirmation. Refund credited in 5–7 business days.
Partial Cancellation Charges
The same cancellation charges apply as for full cancellation — calculated per passenger based on how far in advance you cancel:
| When you cancel | Charge per passenger |
|---|---|
| More than 48 hours before departure | Flat ₹30–₹240 by class (minimum deduction) |
| 12–48 hours before departure | 25% of that passenger's fare |
| 4–12 hours before departure | 50% of that passenger's fare |
| Less than 4 hours / after chart | No refund (e-ticket) |
Special Cases: WL and RAC Passengers
- Cancelling a WL passenger: You can cancel a waitlisted passenger before chart and get a full refund minus flat charge. Other WL passengers on the same PNR may move up slightly.
- Cancelling a RAC passenger: Treated like a confirmed ticket — cancellation charges apply based on timing.
- After chart preparation: WL e-tickets are already auto-cancelled. You can still partially cancel confirmed passengers but no refund if less than 4 hours before departure for e-tickets.
- Tatkal partial cancellation: No refund for confirmed Tatkal passengers even if partially cancelling — same no-refund Tatkal rule applies.
Important Rules and Limits
- You cannot partially cancel if you are the only passenger on the PNR — use full cancellation instead.
- A minimum of 1 passenger must remain on the PNR after partial cancellation.
- Partial cancellation must be done by the booking user — the same IRCTC login that made the booking.
- Partial cancellation is available online on IRCTC website and app up until the cancellation deadline.
- Counter (railway station) tickets need to go to the reservation counter for partial cancellation — online partial cancellation is only for e-tickets.
Refund After Partial Cancellation
The refund for cancelled passengers is credited to the same payment source used for booking:
- Credit/Debit card: 5–7 business days
- Net banking: 5–7 business days
- IRCTC wallet / e-wallet: Instant or within 24 hours
- UPI: 3–5 business days
Related: Full cancellation charges 2026 | IRCTC refund time