Mumbai: Faced with a sharp rise in fake railway tickets, AI-generated ticket images and fraudulent mobile applications, Central and Western Railway have sought nearly double the existing strength of ticket checking staff on Mumbai's suburban network. Railway officials said the proposal has been sent to the Railway Board, citing not only the growing daily passenger load but also the increasing challenge of detecting digitally manipulated tickets and counterfeit ticketing apps.
At present, Central Railway has around 1,400 ticket checking staff, while Western Railway has nearly 1,100. However, Mumbai's suburban network carries more than 65 lakh passengers every day—about 35-38 lakh on Central Railway and 28-30 lakh on Western Railway. As per Railway Board norms, one ticket checker should be available for every 1,000 passengers. Based on this benchmark, Central Railway has sought around 2,800 ticket checkers, while Western Railway has proposed increasing its strength to around 2,300-2,400.
Technology Misuse Makes Ticket Verification Challenging
Railway officials said the demand is driven by two major concerns—insufficient manpower and the growing misuse of technology by ticket fraudsters. In the past few years, cases involving forged tickets, AI-morphed ticket screenshots and fake railway ticketing applications have increased, making ticket verification more challenging for frontline staff. With limited manpower, it has become difficult to carry out regular checks across stations, suburban trains, AC locals and first-class coaches while also identifying sophisticated digital fraud.
Fake RailOne App Incident Raises Alarm
The issue came into sharp focus on June 20, when a ticket checker detected a suspected fake RailOne application during a routine inspection on a Mumbai AC local train. The passenger displayed what appeared to be a valid digital ticket, but the application closely resembled the official RailOne platform. Verification through the Hand Held Terminal (HHT) revealed that the UTS number shown on the screen actually belonged to an old second-class ticket issued two days earlier, exposing the suspected fraud. The incident raised fresh concerns over lookalike apps capable of generating fake ticket screens.
According to railway officials, increasing the number of ticket checkers will strengthen anti-ticketless drives and improve detection of forged and manipulated digital tickets. More squads can be deployed during peak hours, festivals and special drives, while dedicated teams can monitor AC locals, first-class coaches and reserved compartments more effectively.
Officials also said additional manpower would reduce the workload on existing ticket checking staff, who are often deployed for continuous enforcement drives and special duties. If approved by the Railway Board, the proposal is expected to strengthen revenue protection, improve enforcement and help curb the growing misuse of fake railway tickets and unauthorised ticketing applications across Mumbai's suburban railway network.
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