1. Booking & Payment Procedure

• 25% of the ticket value as advance at the time of booking along with the list of guests/pax and their passport scanned soft copies.
• Balance payment shall be made 60 days prior to the departure date.
• If the balance payment is not made at least 60 days prior to the departure date, a penalty of 12% interest will be applied.
• In the case of bookings made within 60 days prior to the departure date, 100% payment shall be deposited to the authorized O&M operator along with the booking details.
• The rate of exchange prevailing on the date of transaction shall be applicable as per the RBI.
• GST, as applicable, shall be charged extra.
• Children below 5 years of age will be complimentary; however, they must share the same cabin.
• Tariff will be charged for children above 5 years but below 12 years at 50%, provided they share the accommodation with an adult.
• One cabin has occupancy of 2 adult pax only. An additional mattress can be provided for infants or a child below 12 years as per policy.
• The tariff in Indian currency is fixed for guests having valid Indian nationality proof, i.e., a valid Indian passport or OCI card (valid proof for the same needs to be submitted at the time of booking). In case of any variance in the documents, then the Dollar rate would be applicable.

2. Cancellation Rules for Deduction of amount-

• 10% of the ticket value shall be deducted on cancellations made between 120 to 90 days before the travel date.
• 25% of the ticket value shall be deducted on cancellations made between 89 to 60 days before the travel date.
• 50% of the ticket value shall be deducted on cancellations made between 59 to 30 days before the travel date.
• No refund shall be admissible if the booking is cancelled within 29 days prior to the departure date.
• In case of cancellation of booking suo-moto by the Operator, 100% of the deposited amount (without any additional charges or claims) will be refunded.
• The Operator shall not be liable for any refund or compensation for services such as pre/post accommodation, airline tickets, excursions, etc., that have been booked separately by the guest and/or their Travel Agent.
• The Operator, under intimation to RTDC, reserves the right to cancel the tour/trip at any given point of time for whatsoever reasons. In such cases, 100% of the received amount will be refunded.
• The Operator will review and apprise the agents of such instances 60 days prior to departure in case of low occupancy. The Operator reserves the right to cancel the departure up to 30 days prior and inform the agents or individuals of such bookings.
• The minimum occupancy required to run the operations is defined as 50%, i.e., 17 cabins.

3. Direct Individual / Online Booking and Discount Structure

• Direct individual/online booking on the RTDC operator website is also available for POW. Payment for such bookings shall be charged as per policy.
• No commission shall be allowed to any agent for such bookings.
• In order to implement a robust and transparent operator booking system, efforts will be made to ensure that all tickets are booked and cancelled online.

4. Part Journey

• Existing bookings already transferred through RTDC will be accommodated by the operator. However, for new bookings, part bookings will be entertained only at the discretion of the operator, based on occupancy.
• New bookings will be accepted only for the full itinerary, i.e., 7 nights. In case any guest leaves en route after the start of the trip/journey, no amount will be refunded or claimed by them in any form, as per policy.

5. Procedure for Confirmed Bookings

• For all confirmed bookings, confirmation shall be valid only upon deposition of 100% of the ticket value along with the Passenger List and scanned copies of passports, at least 60 days prior to the travel date. If the Passenger List and scanned copies of passports are not received at least 45 days prior to the travel date, the booking shall be treated as cancelled and no refund will be admissible.
• Once the names of the guests have been received, no substitution shall be permitted. If a name is changed or removed, it shall be treated as a cancelled booking. The new name(s) will be treated as a fresh booking and will be confirmed subject to availability.
• In the case of a charter booking received for a tour, if fewer than 20 seats/pax are booked, the Operator may offer an option to the GSA/Travel Agents/Individual Traveller. In such cases, the GSA/Travel Agents/Individual Traveller shall be provided with the option of a full refund or amendment/shifting of seats free of cost in the next available tour.

6. No Show/ En Route Termination of Tour

• No Show: In case of a no show or non-arrival of the guest, no refund or adjustment for future travel will be possible. The entire amount shall be treated as forfeited. However, under circumstances such as natural disasters, natural calamities, or national security events, the matter will be favorably considered by the Authorized Operator to the extent of guest/passenger satisfaction, as well as their comfort, for better luxury travel experience and related promotions.
• En Route Termination of Tour: In case of termination of the tour by the guest, for any reason, no refund or adjustment for future travel will be admissible. The amount for the unused portion of the tour shall be treated as forfeited.

1. Booking by GSAs/Travel Agents & Commission Structure

• For GSAs – In order to motivate GSAs/Travel Agents to provide business on POW, performance-based incentives will be available upon achieving a benchmark booking of 100 seats in a season, which can be dealt with on a case-to-case basis. These incentives shall be applicable only upon receipt of 100% payment for the booking amount received by the Operator. A separate MOU shall be signed with the Operator as per their terms and conditions.
• Any Travel Agent providing bookings of more than 50 pax in a season for POW shall be entitled to become a GSA, subject to fulfilment of other criteria.
• All statutory compliances such as payment of Service Tax, TDS, or any other applicable liability shall be complied with/cleared by the GSA/Agents.
• 70% of the total seats will be available for bulk booking by GSAs/Travel Agents. The remaining 30% of the seats shall be reserved for individual direct online bookings. In case the reserved seats for one category are fully booked, the seats shall be opened for other categories, and vice versa, in a tour.

2. Charter Booking

• Anyone can book an exclusive charter with a minimum of 50 pax/travellers, including Presidential and Super Deluxe Cabins, for the Palace on Wheels.
• No charter bookings will be accepted for trips scheduled during Christmas and New Year.
• The charter shall normally be booked for a 7-night itinerary; however, in the interest of business, it may be booked for a lesser number of nights, keeping in view the booking potential.
• The charter can be booked on the existing POW tour itinerary. However, any diversion (outside Rajasthan state) in the approved itinerary may be permissible after prior approval of RTDC/Indian Railways, for which the charter value and cost will be disclosed on a case-to-case basis.
• No Free of Cost (FOC) provision shall be admissible on the above charter.

3. Payment Policy for Charter

• 10% amount of the charter cost at the time of booking confirmation.
• 15% amount of the charter cost at 120 days prior to departure.
• 25% amount of the charter cost at 90 days prior to departure.
• Balance payment 60 days prior to departure date.
• In case of further delay in payment, it will lead to a penalty of 12% interest.

4. Cancellation Rates for Charter

• 10% of the charter cost 120 days or more prior to departure date.
• 25% of the charter cost 119 to 90 days prior to departure date.
• 50% of the charter cost 89 to 60 days prior to departure date.
• 100% amount will be charged as cancellation if the charter is cancelled 59 to 0 days prior to departure.

5. Additional Points

• At the time of booking purpose of the charter e.g. corporate event, special occasion should be mentioned, with the list of guests with their valid ID proofs.
• The O&M operator reserves the right to cancel or reschedule charter booking due to unforeseen circumstances beyond operators’ control as well as any guidelines received from State Government/their nominated agencies keep safety and security perspectives for all tourists/guests.
• Any damages to the train or its facilities caused by the booking party will be the financial responsibility of the booking party.
• For excursions, a shared seat coach will be provided. Guests requesting exclusive vehicles or the services of language guides shall be charged extra.

Operator may declare Special Business Promotion scheme from time to time. Also, there may be route/visit plan changes as per the instructions or guidelines received from State Dept/Indian Railway/RTDC/Nominated agencies on special event dates falling on 26th Jan, 2nd Oct etc. beyond the operator's control and management.