Central Railway has intensified its crackdown on unauthorised and ticketless travel, recovering a record Rs 164.91 crore in penalties from 27.51 lakh offenders during the financial year 2025–26 (April to November 2025).
The figure marks a significant rise compared to the previous financial year, when penalties amounting to Rs 138.44 crore were collected from 25.08 lakh cases. This reflects an increase of nearly 10 per cent in the number of offenders booked and over 19 per cent growth in penalty realisation, underscoring the railways’ stepped-up enforcement drive.
The month of November 2025 alone saw Central Railway ticket-checking teams apprehend 3.74 lakh passengers travelling without valid tickets or with improper travel authority, a sharp jump of more than 25 per cent from the 2.98 lakh cases recorded in November 2024. Penalty collections during the month surged to Rs 23.63 crore, compared to Rs 14.08 crore in the corresponding period last year—an increase of nearly 68 per cent.
Division-wise data for 2025–26 (April–November) shows that the Mumbai division accounted for the highest number of cases, with 11.34 lakh ticketless passengers booked and penalties of Rs 48.79 crore recovered. Bhusaval division topped penalty collections, realising Rs 59.25 crore from 6.94 lakh cases. Pune division collected Rs18.40 crore from 3.05 lakh cases, Nagpur division Rs18.13 crore from 2.92 lakh cases, Solapur division Rs 7.50 crore from 1.60 lakh cases, while the headquarters accounted for Rs 12.82 crore from 1.66 lakh cases.
According to Central Railway, the results are a outcome of a multi-pronged enforcement strategy that includes station checks, ambush checks, fortress checks, intensive inspections and mega ticket-checking drives. These checks are carried out across Mail and Express trains, passenger and special trains, as well as suburban services in the Mumbai and Pune divisions.
Railway authorities have once again urged passengers to travel only with valid tickets purchased from authorised booking counters, ATVMs, the IRCTC website or through the UTS mobile application. Passengers have also been cautioned against using fraudulent or fake tickets, warning that such offences are punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act, 2023, with penalties including fines and imprisonment of up to seven years.
Reiterating its zero-tolerance policy towards ticketless travel, Central Railway said it remains committed to ensuring a safe, smooth and dignified journey for all passengers.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
