New Delhi, Mar 21 (IANS): To contain the spread of coronavirus in the country and avoid huge rush at the railway premises, the Indian Railways has asked the passengers not to come immediately to the reservation counters to cancel their tickets.

It relaxed the refund period of cancelled tickets for three months.

In a statement, the Railway Ministry said all rules for e-ticket remain the same as a passenger does not need to come to a station for a refund.

The railways said that in case the train is cancelled by Indian Railways for journey period from March 21 March to April 15, the refund across the counter can be made on submission of ticket up to three months from date of journey.

"This relaxation is for three months journey period i.e. from March 21 to June 21, 2020," the railways said.

Earlier, to cancel a ticket booked from the reservation counter, a passenger needed to submit the ticket from three hours to 72 hours.

The railways further said that if the train has not been cancelled by the national transporter and the passenger does not want to continue the journey, "then ticket deposit receipt (TDR) can be filed within 30 days from date of journey at the station".