In the span from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, Western Railway's air-conditioned local trains experienced a concerning surge of 25% in ticketless travel. Official data unveiled a staggering 59,989 instances of ticketless travel recorded by WR in its air-conditioned suburban trains within Mumbai Central division, indicating a substantial rise compared to the preceding fiscal year's 48,619 cases.
Western Railway's Commitment To Combatting Ticketless Travel
This surge in ticketless travel has been attributed by WR officials to intensified checking and enforcement drives throughout the year. An official statement from WR emphasized their commitment to ensuring hassle-free and comfortable travel for genuine passengers, outlining the extensive ticket checking initiatives conducted across Mumbai's suburban trains as well as Mail/Express, passenger, and holiday special trains to combat the issue of ticketless and irregular passengers.
Western Railway Officials Vigorous Ticket Checking
"The dedicated ticket checking teams, under the guidance of senior commercial officers, orchestrated numerous drives between April 2023 and March 2024, resulting in the recovery of a significant sum totaling Rs. 173.89 crore across WR's jurisdiction, including Rs. 46.90 crore from the Mumbai Suburban section alone" said an official of WR.
"Notably, in March 2024, WR reported the recovery of Rs. 16.77 crore through the detection of 2.75 lakh instances of ticketless or irregular travel, including unbooked luggage cases, across its entire jurisdiction. Additionally, fines amounting to Rs. 4.80 crore were collected in March, with over 1 lakh cases detected specifically within Mumbai's suburban section encompassing the air-conditioned suburban trains" he said.
