Train passenger rights in India that most people don't know about

Indian Railways carries millions of passengers a day, and along with that scale comes a set of passenger-protection rules that hardly anyone actually knows about until they need them. A few are worth keeping in your back pocket.

TTEs generally can't check tickets after 10 PM

Ticket verification is meant to be completed before 10 PM, so a TTE shouldn't be waking sleeping passengers for routine checks after that — unless you board the train after 10 PM yourself, in which case your ticket is checked at boarding.

If you miss the train at your boarding station

Missing your train doesn't automatically forfeit your reserved seat. Your berth can't be reallocated to another passenger for at least one hour, or until the train passes the next two stops — whichever comes first — which means you may be able to board at the next station and still claim your original seat.

If the AC isn't working

Travelling in an AC class where the air conditioning fails partway through the journey entitles you to a refund covering the fare difference for the distance or duration it wasn't functioning — this is a genuine, claimable right, not just a complaint you can raise.

Big delays and journeys cut short

• If your train is delayed more than three hours and you decide not to travel at all, you're entitled to a full refund (filed as a TDR).
• If the journey is terminated early due to a natural calamity or a technical issue with no alternative arrangement offered, you get a full refund; if an alternate train is offered and you decline it, the fare is adjusted for the distance actually travelled.
• If Indian Railways cancels your train outright, you get a full refund regardless of ticket type or how close to departure the cancellation happens.