Is it possible to change the boarding point after booking the train ticket

Dear IMers,

I have booked 2 tickets in cc from Mangalore central to Thrissur(travelling on 2nd November 2012). Now there is a change in plan and I wish to board the train from Kasargod(45 kms after mangalore central). Is there a option to change my boarding point by retaining the same ticket or do I need to cancel and rebook the ticket from Kasargod.

please provide your suggestions so that I can cancel and rebook tickets.

Boarding point change

I already have the e-ticket with me. the irctc website shows how to change the boarding point at the time of booking. I have emailed IRCTC and waiting for reply.

BP change can be done at a Counter, not online or by emailing IRCTC. Carry a print, an ID and request at a counter.

Response from IRCTC customer care.

Dear Customer,

Please note that boarding point cannot be changed online. Any change in boarding point in E-ticket can be done across any Computerized Reservation Center as per existing Extent Railway rules. Kindly contact the Reservation Supervisor at the nearest Reservation Center with ERS printout and photo identity proof of one of the passenger traveling in the tick at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure of train as per extant Railway rules for the same. The Railway Authorities will take a decision in this regard only after considering the technical and administrative feasibility of changing the boarding point of your ticket. No refund will be permissible for the portion of journey not performed by the passenger. Boarding point changed at PRS counter will not reflect in IRCTC' s booking history details or the ERS.

Note :- No modification is allowed regarding Boarding Point in Tatkal Tickets.

Just relooked at this. If you choose to ask for BP change so long before journey, it is likely to get refused. Apply closer to travel date, say 3 days before

Can you explain why this is? Wouldn't it be more convenient to the Railways the earlier you did it?

It's an honest question.

Most officials believe that by changing the boarding point you take away the right of Waitlisted and RAC Passenger to move a step towards confirmation; which however is not true.
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They also apprehend of any possible wrong-doings on the part of the passenger.

As you might already know, a ticket can be booked from any station to any station on a trains journey. In order to ensure a demand based but equitable distribution of tickets there are quotas for different segments of a trains whole journey. These reservation quotas on a train are based on Boarding Point. A lot of people know this and misuse it by booking from a station that has availability or more favourable position and then later change the boarding point. While the facility to change the BP is a genuine need in a lot of cases, it sees more of a misuse now. If you are asking for a change so early on, it indicates that you are just trying to beat the BP based quota. Much closer to travel may indicate a genuine change of plan.

Explained perfectly.

I'll give an example.

The Golden Temple Mail departs Amritsar in the evening, gets to Delhi the following morning, then continues on to Mumbai arriving on the next morning.

A certain portion of the train is kept for Amritsar-Mumbai passengers (full distance is always known as General quota), another portion of the train is held for Amritsar-Delhi passengers (cant remember what this quota is known as), then that same portion is used for Delhi-Mumbai passengers.(remote location quota)

The Delhi-Mumbai portion sells out faster than the Amritsar-Mumbai portion, so knowledgeable Delhi passengers book on the Amritsar-Mumbai quota, then change their boarding point to Delhi, thus leaving the berth empty for the Amritsar-Delhi sector.

So why not allow an easy early boarding point change, then re-sell the Amritsar-Delhi berth? well, if that were to happen, you may as well forget any quotas and allow the whole system to become a mad scramble for tickets.

There's also the loss of revenue, the Amritsar-Mumbai quota will include all stations before Delhi, even though they expect most passengers to book from Amritsar or Jalandhar, it's complex to then have a separate quota for other stations before Delhi, so Delhi passengers don't book from Amritsar, they book from the last station before Delhi.

(the above is just an example, I've not checked the quotas recently, just going from memory, so it may not be accurate)

They used to allow a boarding point change online, but no longer, this change was likely because of people abusing the boarding point quotas, and as part of the indiamike community, we have to realise that we've been advising people how to abuse the boarding point quotas for years, so we deserve a large slap on the wrist.

Dear Members, Thanks for your comments/suggestions/explanations. I booked my train tickets from Kasargod to Thrissur(50 tickets were available) and cancelled my ticket from Mangalore to Thrissur. 120 rupees were deducted as cancellation charges and remaining amount was credited to my account.

Ah, atleast in this ONE case...