Indian Railways Round Trip Scheme: Indian Railways has introduced a Round Trip Scheme to make travel cheaper and booking easier during the festival season.
Passengers who book both onward and return tickets under this scheme will get a 20% discount on the base fare of the return ticket. Here’s a simple guide on how you can book tickets through the IRCTC Rail Connect mobile app and avail this discount:
Step 1: Book Your Onward Journey (13 Oct – 26 Oct 2025)
- Open the IRCTC Rail Connect app and tap on “Train” from the home screen.
- Select the “Festival Round Trip” option.
- Read the scheme details and confirm to continue.
- Search trains for onward travel only between 13th and 26th October 2025.
- Tip: Only trains with “CNF/Confirmed Availability” are eligible.
- Choose your train (Flexi/Dynamic fare trains are not allowed).
- Enter passenger details carefully – these same details will apply for the return journey.
- Make the payment and confirm booking.
After booking, your onward ticket (PNR) will be generated. You’ll also see the option “Book Return Journey (20% Discount)”.
Step 2: Book Your Return Journey (17 Nov – 1 Dec 2025)
From the booking confirmation page (or “My Bookings” in the app), tap “Book Return Journey (20% Discount)”.
- The source and destination stations will be automatically filled – you cannot change them.
- Search trains for return travel only between 17th November and 1st December 2025.
- Choose your preferred class. The fare shown will already include the 20% discount on the base fare.
- Select the train (again, no Flexi/Dynamic fare trains allowed) and proceed.
- Review the journey details and passenger information (same as onward ticket, no changes allowed).
- Complete the payment. Your return journey PNR will be generated.
The scheme will be effective from August 14, 2025, and aims to ease the festival rush and ensure trains run fuller in both directions. Please note that the 20% discount applies only to the base fare of the return ticket. Other charges, such as reservation fees, superfast surcharges, GST, and taxes, must be paid in full.
Example: If a train ticket costs Rs 1,000 in total — with Rs 700 as base fare and Rs 300 as additional charges — the 20% discount will be applied only on the Rs 700 base fare. So, the saving will be Rs 140, not on the entire Rs 1,000.
