Indian Railways carries over 2 crore passengers per day. Advance train ticket reservation can be made generally up to 120 days in advance for all classes of travel and the period of advance reservation (ARP) is exclusive of the day of departure of the train, says IRCTC, the e-ticketing arm of Railways, on its website. What are the train ticket cancellation and refund rules on confirmed, waitlisted and RAC tickets for sleeper and AC classes? E-tickets – or tickets booked online through IRCTC portal – can be cancelled online till chart preparation, says IRCTC. E-ticket cancellations are not allowed at railway counters.  The refund is credited back to the account used for booking online tickets, after deduction of applicable cancellation charges.
Train ticket cancellation and refund rules:

Remember that cancellation charges are levied on per passenger basis.

If confirmed ticket is cancelled up to 48 hours before the scheduled departure of train, then ticket cancellation charges will be deducted at Rs. 240 for AC First Class/Executive Class, Rs. 200 for AC 2 Tier/First Class, Rs. 180 for AC 3 Tier/AC Chair car/AC 3 Economy, Rs.120 for Sleeper Class and Rs.60 for Second Class.

If confirmed ticket is cancelled within 48 hours and up to 12 hours before the scheduled departure of train, ticket cancellation charges will be 25 per cent of the fare, subject to the minimum flat rate mentioned above.

If confirmed ticket is cancelled between 12 hours and up to four hours before the scheduled departure, cancellation charges will be 50 per cent of the fare paid subject, to the minimum cancellation rate.