Mumbai: Western railway recovers above Rs. 35 lakh as fines from passengers traveling without mask

Western Railway has been conducting regular ticket checking drives to keep a check on unauthorized travelling. With these intensive drives, WR recovered Rs. 94.21 crore for irregular travel while Rs 35.45 lakh were received as fine from without mask cases, during the period April 2021 to February 2022.

According to Sumit Thakur - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, during the checks conducted from April 2021 to February 2022, about 15.92 lakh cases of ticketless/irregular travel including unbooked luggage cases were detected, resulting in a recovery of Rs. 94.21 crore. During the period, 9 cases of transfer of reserved tickets were detected and over Rs. 13,000/- was realized. Besides this, 660 beggars were apprehended and evicted. Also, 710 unauthorized hawkers were apprehended, out of which, 261 were charged and an amount of approx. Rs. 1,10,000/- was realized as Railway dues. 447 persons were prosecuted and Rs. 1,45,870/- were recovered in fine.

Action against passengers without masks in railway premises Ticket Checking staff have been vested with the power to collect fines from passengers without masks. As a result, 20,092 cases of travelling without masks were detected and an amount of approx. Rs 35.45 lakh was recovered from 17th April 2021 to 28th February, 2022 over Western Railway.

Western Railway has also appealed to the general public that all permitted categories of passengers to travel with proper and valid tickets and should carry valid Identity cards in order to avoid inconvenience and always wear masks. It is also requested that travellers should follow proper medical and social protocols as mandated for COVID-19.