Change the Boarding Station on a Train Ticket

A passenger booked from one station and now wants to get on at another one, because the train passes through both. It sounds like a small favour. You’d expect it not to matter which platform he stands on, as long as he’s on the same train.

But it does matter, and the part that goes wrong isn’t the menu path. It’s what the change does to the ticket. This guide gives you the steps, but it spends more time on what to tell the passenger first, because that’s where counters get into trouble.

What should you tell the passenger before you change anything?

Once the boarding point is changed, the original station is no longer valid for that ticket.

Read that again, because it’s the whole point. You are not adding a second option. You are moving the boarding point. If the passenger then turns up at the station he originally booked from, he’s travelling without a valid ticket for that leg, and the reservation chart won’t have him boarding there.

So say it out loud, in plain words, before you touch anything. For example: “After this change you can only board at the new station. The old one won’t work for this ticket. Are you sure?” It takes ten seconds. It’s the most common way this goes wrong at a counter, and the easiest one to prevent.

Where is the option?

On IRCTC’s own site, signed in to the account that made the booking:

Booked Ticket History → select the booking → Change Boarding Point

Then pick the new station from the list the site offers, and confirm. The list isn’t free text, so you can’t type a station of your own. You choose from what it shows.

A word on sign-in. Use the account that made the booking, and only your own login. Don’t ask anyone for their password or an OTP to “do it quickly” on their behalf. If the booking sits on the passenger’s own account, he signs in himself and you guide him.

What do you check before you start?

A few limits cause most failed attempts. Check each one on IRCTC’s site on the day, because rules get revised and this page doesn’t carry a dated source for them.

• The cut-off before scheduled departure. You can’t do this at the last minute. Look up the current cut-off on IRCTC’s site, not a figure printed on any website, this one included. And do the change the moment the passenger asks.
• How many times a ticket can be changed. Don’t experiment. Decide the right station first, then make one clean change.
• Which stations the option offers. The new station has to be one the train serves and one that the option lists.
• The fare. Don’t promise a refund of any difference for a shorter journey. Tell the passenger up front that he shouldn’t assume one.

If any of these is unclear for this particular ticket, tell the passenger honestly that you need to check, instead of guessing.

How do you do it at the counter, step by step?

Here’s an order that keeps mistakes low.

1. Ask where he’ll physically get on. Not where he lives. Where will he stand when the train arrives?
2. Look at the booking and the train, and note the new station he’s asking for.
3. Say the one thing from the top of this page, and wait for a clear yes.
4. Open Booked Ticket History, select the booking and choose Change Boarding Point.
5. Pick the new station from the list and confirm.
6. Open the booking again and check that the new boarding station shows.
7. Send the passenger a message with the PNR and the new boarding station.

Step 6 is the one people skip. A change that “went through” in your head isn’t the same as a change you can see on the screen.

What if the option won’t work?

Sometimes the option doesn’t appear, or it doesn’t accept the change. Don’t keep tapping and don’t promise the passenger a result. Go back over the list of limits above. Is it too close to departure? Has the ticket already been changed? Is the station you want offered?

If the answer isn’t clear, check IRCTC’s site for the current rule on that day, and tell the passenger plainly what you found. A straight “it can’t be done now” is better than a hopeful “let me try again later” that ends with him at the wrong station.

What changes after the chart is prepared?

Once charting has happened, the boarding point on the chart is the one the staff have. Don’t treat a change at that stage as an online operation, and don’t promise the passenger that the railway will allow it.

And what if the passenger has already missed his original station without changing anything? That’s a different problem with a worse answer. Be straight with him about it, rather than hopeful.

What does it look like in practice?

Here’s an imagined example, only to show the order of things. It isn’t a real passenger or a real train.

Say a passenger has a ticket from Station A. A day later he calls and says his cousin will drop him at Station B, which is further along the same route. Can you change it?

You don’t say “yes, easy.” You ask him two questions. First, will he really board at B, with no chance of changing his mind again at the last minute? Second, does he understand that A will no longer work for this ticket? Only after he says yes to both do you open the booking and check the current cut-off on IRCTC’s site.

If the cut-off has passed, or the option doesn’t offer B, you tell him so on the spot. If it goes through, you open the booking again to see B on the screen, and then you send him the message below. Nothing in this example is a promise about any real ticket. It just shows that most of the work happens before and after the click.

What should the confirmation message say?

Keep it short, so the passenger actually reads it. Something like this:

Your boarding point is changed. PNR: [number]. New boarding station: [name]. Please board only at this station. The earlier station is no longer valid for this ticket.

Fill in the real PNR and station name from the booking you’ve just checked on the screen. Don’t copy a station from memory. And if the passenger is travelling with others on the same PNR, make sure the person who reads the message is the person who will travel.

What habits help at a counter?

Three small habits prevent nearly all of these cases.

• Ask where they’ll actually board. It costs nothing at booking time, and it’s expensive to fix afterwards. If you ask at the moment of booking, you may never need this page.
• Do it when they ask, not later. The cut-off doesn’t care that you were busy with another customer.
• Confirm it in writing. Message the new boarding station along with the PNR, so the passenger doesn’t turn up at the wrong platform. Keep the same message in your own phone as a record.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Changing the station first and explaining afterwards.
• Treating the change as “adding” a second boarding point.
• Quoting a cut-off time from memory or from a website.
• Promising a fare difference back.
• Asking for the passenger’s password or OTP.
• Leaving it to the last minute because the passenger “may” decide later.

Questions passengers ask

Can I board at either station after the change?

No. After the change, the original station isn’t valid for that ticket. The passenger boards at the new one.

Will I get money back if the new station is closer to my destination?

Don’t assume so. Tell the passenger up front that nothing should be expected, and don’t promise a refund of any difference.

Is this the same as cancelling the ticket?

No. A boarding-point change keeps the same booking. A cancellation ends it, and the refund rules are different. See how to submit an IRCTC refund request, and what a cancelled ticket means for your agent charge.

What if the passenger just doesn’t turn up at the new station?

Then the ticket is not being used the way it was booked. The railway’s normal rules apply to a ticket that isn’t used, and this page doesn’t cover them. Tell the passenger at the start that the change is a decision, not a draft.

Does the change cost anything?

This page has no dated source for any fee, so we don’t state one. Check IRCTC’s site before you tell the passenger it’s free or paid.

Related

If the question is really about cancelling rather than changing, see how to submit an IRCTC refund request. A refund on a cancellation and a TDR claim are different things with different outcomes. If a booking failed and money was debited without a ticket being issued, that is a third case.