Mumbai: Intensive ticket checking drives being carried out in local and express trains to nab ticketless passengers

In order to ensure hassle-free, comfortable travel and better services to all bonafide passengers on Western Railway, intensive ticket checking drives are being carried out continuously in Mumbai suburban local services, express trains as well as passenger trains and holiday special trains so as to curb the menace of ticketless/irregular passengers. The highly motivated ticket checking team under the supervision of senior commercial officers of Western Railway organized several ticket checking drives during the period from April to September 2022, thereby recovering an amount to the tune of Rs. 97.17 crore.

According to Sumit Thakur, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, in the month of September 2022, an amount of Rs. 9.99 crore was recovered through detection of 1.59 lakh ticketless/irregular passengers, including unbooked luggage cases. It is pertinent to mention that during the Financial Year 2022 - 23, a total of 14.39 lakh ticketless/ irregular passengers and unbooked luggage cases were detected, as against 4.79 lakh cases detected during the corresponding period last, which is an increase of over 200%. Fine of Rs. 97.17 crore was recovered from these passengers which is an increase of 295% over corresponding period of last year which was Rs. 24.60 crore.

To prevent unauthorized entry into AC local trains, frequent surprise ticket-checking drives are carried out. As a result of these drives about 16000 unauthorized passengers have been penalized since April 2022.