Changing passenger name on an Indian Railways ticket

Question

I have booked a ticket on IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) for me and my brother but now even my sister is willing to travel but we are not getting tickets for her. So my brother agreed to not come and take my sister with me. Can I take my sister on the same ticket which is booked on my brother's name? Or is there a way I can change the name on already booked ticket to reflect my brother's name or is there a way I can cancel the ticket and book the same ticket on my sister's name?

Please help soon - I am travelling on 26th of this month.

Answer 1

Yes, you can do this. Here are the details on the official site: Change in the Name of Passenger

Change of name of a passenger having a seat or berth reserved in his name in the following circumstances namely:

(b) Where the passenger makes a request in writing 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train that the reservation made in his name may be transferred to another member of his family, meaning, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister, Son, Daughter, Husband and Wife.

As the rules state, you need to do this at least 24 hours before the journey so if you're travelling on the 26th, you'll need to hurry.

Based on my experience, you should take a printout of the page linked above--there are some booking clerks who don't know the more obscure rules.