Indian Railways Eases Return Trip With 'Road Trip Package' Ahead Of Diwali, Chhath Check Booking Dates Here

(MENAFN- Live Mint) In a significant move, Ministry of Railways has introduced an experimental "Round Trip Package for Festival Rush" scheme which emphasises to reduce passenger crowd and improving travel comfort ahead of Diwali, Chhath as the festive season approaches.

It provides a 20 per cent rebate on the base fare of the return journey for passengers securing their confirmed tickets for both onward and return travel for the same set of passengers, including class, and origin-destination pair, according to a Railway Board notice released on August 8.

It focuses to ease congestion, pave the way for bookings without any trouble, and making the usage of train services better, comprising special trains, in fro and to ways.

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Bookings under the scheme will start on August 14, 2025, for onward journeys scheduled between October 13 and October 26, 2025. Return journeys must be booked through the connecting journey feature and are valid for travel between November 17 and December 1, 2025.

However, the advance reservation period rules will not be applicable to bookings while coming back from the destination. The scheme covers all classes and trains, excluding those operating with flexi-fare pricing, and is applicable only to confirmed tickets.

Passengers must purchase both their outbound and return tickets using the same booking channel, either online through the official website or at physical ticket counters. There will be no extra charges levied during the finalisation of these bookings (PNRs). Tickets issued under this program are strictly non-refundable, it added.

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The circular further said that this offer is valid across all travel classes and includes special demand-based trains but excludes trains that follow dynamic pricing models such as Flexi fare. Changes to tickets or any additional discounts will not be permitted as part of this scheme. Additionally, travel coupons, discount vouchers, passes, and Privilege Ticket Orders (PTOs) cannot be used for the discounted return segment, it noted.

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