Correct information about no refund for train ticket cancellation within 8 hours

It appears that there is some misinformation doing rounds on the internet with regard to changes in the cancellation charges / refund for train tickets cancelled within 8 hours before the scheduled departure of the train.  Almost all sites reporting this information states that there is no refund if a ticket is cancelled within 8 hours of the scheduled departure of the train. When we tried to verify this information by accessing the IRCTC / Indian Railways portal we could not find any authentic information on the suggested changes in the cancellation charges. However, what we found is the following:

Indian Railways have amended Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Ticket and Refund of Fare) Rules, 2015, vide the Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Ticket and Refund of Fare) Amendment Rules, 2026 which came into force with effect from 16th day of January, 2026.  These amendments will be applicable for Vande Bharat Sleeper Express and Amrit Bharat II Express. As per the amendments, following rules will apply for these categories of trians:

In the case of Vande Bharat Sleeper Express, if a confirmed ticket is presented by the passenger or his
representative for cancellation, the refund of fare shall be made after deducting cancellation charges from the fare as follows:–
(a) if the ticket is presented for cancellation more than seventy-two hours in advance of the scheduled
departure of the train, the cancellation charge shall be twenty five per cent. of the fare.
(b) if the ticket is presented for cancellation between seventy-two hours and upto eight hours before the
scheduled departure of the train, the cancellation charge shall be fifty per cent. of the fare.
(c) if the ticket is presented for cancellation in less than eight hours of the scheduled departure of the
train, no refund shall be granted.

The reserved ticket of Amrit Bharat II Express shall be governed by the rules as are applicable to the reserved ticket of Vande Bharat Sleeper Express.

So it is clear from the above that no refund rule if tickets are cancelled within 8 hours of departure is only for the above categories of trains and not for all trains.

If anyone has better clarification / information, these are most welcome.