NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has announced a fresh initiative to make festive season travel smoother for passengers: the new “Round Trip Package” scheme, which offers discounts and rebates to encourage advance round-trip bookings.
This scheme is designed to tackle the usual surge in ticket demand during festivals by redistributing passenger traffic over a broader time frame, ensuring optimal use of both regular and special trains. According to the announcement, passengers who book both their onward and return journeys within the set periods will qualify for exclusive fare benefits.
To benefit from this experimental offer, travelers need to book their onward tickets for journeys starting between October 13 and October 26, 2025. The return tickets under the same scheme can then be reserved for travel dates falling between November 17 and December 1, 2025.
Notably, the return journey must match the onward journey details—meaning both sets of tickets are for the same class, between the same origin and destination, and for exactly the same group of passengers.
Booking for both journeys must occur using the same mode, either all online or all offline.
An appealing highlight: a 20 per cent rebate applies exclusively on the base fare of the return leg when both trips are booked together under this scheme.
However, this package is only available for confirmed tickets—waitlisted or RAC (Reservation Against Cancellation) tickets are not eligible. Furthermore, the scheme does not permit any modifications or cancellations, and no refund will be issued once a booking is made. Patrons also can’t combine these discounts with travel coupons, vouchers, passes, or concessionary fare bookings for the return leg.
Importantly, this new option is open to tickets across all seating and travel classes—including special “trains on demand”—with the sole exception of services utilizing Flexi fare pricing. Bookings for this round trip offer commence from August 14, ahead of the advance reservation window for October 13 departures.
The Ministry hopes that by making return travel more attractive and affordable, the booking pressure seen during India’s major festivities can be eased, while passengers enjoy a more convenient and predictable travel experience on both legs of their festive journey.
