Why Does IRCTC Charge Cancellation Fees on Waitlisted Tickets?
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) imposes cancellation fees on waitlisted tickets, primarily to manage administrative costs, encourage booking commitment, generate revenue, and maintain policy consistency.
Administrative Costs
Processing cancellations involves considerable administrative tasks such as updating the ticketing system and managing refunds. The cancellation fee helps cover these operational costs, ensuring that the railway operations run smoothly.
Encouraging Commitment
By charging a cancellation fee, IRCTC discourages passengers from booking waitlisted tickets unless they are reasonably confident of traveling. This measure helps in better management of available seats and reduces unnecessary bookings, improving the overall efficiency of the railway system.
Revenue Generation
The fees collected from cancellations contribute to the overall revenue of the Indian Railways. These funds can be used for infrastructure improvements and enhancing services, ensuring that the railway system continues to be a reliable and efficient mode of public transport.
Policy Consistency
The cancellation fee structure is applied uniformly to all types of tickets, including waitlisted ones, to maintain consistency in ticketing policies. This uniformity ensures fairness and transparency in the system.
Understanding Clerkage Charges
In the case of waitlisted tickets (WL) canceled either by e-ticket after charting or by the party (paper ticket/counter ticket), a clerkage charge is deducted. This is almost uniformly applicable on all waitlisted tickets of reserved classes at Rs 60/- per head, except for 2S class where it is Rs 30/- per head. In higher/AC classes, it is Rs 65/- per head, inclusive of GST.
Impact on RAC Tickets
Similar to WL tickets, the same clerkage charges are deducted from the fare on the cancellation of Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) tickets where sitting accommodation is already allotted. This deduction is only subject to confirmation on the train if there is a vacancy due to passengers not turning up.
Service for Priority Booking
If the railways book only confirmed and RAC tickets and close the bookings once berths are booked, they do not need to maintain a list and prioritize. This system means that you may not get a confirmed accommodation in case of cancellations. The clerkage charge, however, serves as a service to keep you on priority in case of cancellations, allotting you an RAC seat or confirmed berth.
Why Clerkage Charges Matter
The waiting list in a train indicates the level of demand. Based on this demand, the railways make efforts to attach extra coaches if available and operationally feasible. The genuine nature of this demand is evident since people pay the clerkage charges.
Railways should take time-bound action to increase supply, i.e., overall transport capacity, while keeping in view the typically long gestation periods involved in capacity building. The railways need substantial infrastructure before they can offer more seats/berths over any sector.
Contrarian Viewpoint
There is also a contrarian view that if there were no clerkage charges for WL, many passengers would just book a ticket without any intent to travel, thus negatively affecting the genuine passengers who would not be able to book even a ticket under the waiting list. High waiting lists might discourage many from booking if they see that the waiting list is already at its upper limit.
Conclusion
While it may seem inconvenient to pay the cancellation fees, these fees help ensure smoother operations and better resource management within the railway system. The clerkage charges play a crucial role in managing waitlisted tickets efficiently and ensuring that the system works as intended.
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