Railways Offers Reduced Prices on Round-Trip Tickets in Anticipation of the Upcoming Holiday Season
The Indian Ministry of Railways has announced an experimental scheme called the "Round Trip Package for Festival Rush" to ease passenger congestion and ensure smoother travel during the upcoming festive season.
Under this scheme, passengers booking confirmed tickets for both their onward and return journeys together will receive a 20% rebate on the base fare of the return journey. This offer applies to all classes and trains, including special trains on demand, but excludes trains with flexi-fare pricing.
To be eligible for the rebate, both onward and return journey tickets must be booked together and confirmed in both directions. Passenger details on return tickets must be identical to the onward journey. The rebate does not apply to rail travel coupons, vouchers, passes, or PTOs.
No refunds or ticket modifications are allowed under this scheme. Both tickets must be booked using the same mode - either online or at reservation counters. No extra fare collection will be done during charting for these PNRs, and advance reservation period (ARP) rules do not apply for return journeys booked under this scheme.
Bookings for the scheme will open on August 14, 2025, for journeys between October 13 and October 26, 2025. Return journey tickets must be booked between November 17 and December 1, 2025, using the connecting journey feature.
The Ministry of Railways has directed zonal railways to ensure wide publicity through the press, media, and station announcements to inform passengers about the scheme. Passengers are advised to take note of the scheme's conditions and restrictions, as no additional concessions or fare modifications are allowed.
The Round Trip Package for Festival Rush aims to redistribute crowding, facilitate hassle-free bookings, and enhance the utilisation of train services during the peak festival periods, including Diwali and Chhath Puja. The scheme is experimental and introduced to encourage passengers to book round-trip confirmed tickets during these periods.
Due to the Round Trip Package for Festival Rush scheme, passengers can enjoy a 20% rebate on their return journey's base fare when they book confirmed tickets for both onward and return journeys together. This scheme, applicable to all classes and trains, aims to make the festive travel more affordable and enhance the overall lifestyle of passengers during the peak festival periods.
