From The Economic Times · ET Online · · 1m 40s
Railways catch 18 lakh ticketless passengers, rake in Rs 140.8 crore
Central Railway's intensified ticket checks netted record penalties in five months, with collections up 40% year-on-year.
In brief
Central Railway's intensified ticket checks netted record penalties in five months, with collections up 40% year-on-year. Indian Railways is aggressively cracking down on fare evasion through surprise checks and coordinated enforcement drives, generating significantly higher penalty revenue while citing the need to…
Central Railway's massive ticketless crackdown
Central Railway caught 18 lakh passengers without valid tickets between April and August, recovering Rs 140.8 crore in penalties. The haul was 40% higher than the same period last year.
Mumbai division leads penalty collection
Mumbai division collected Rs 58.5 crore from 8.8 lakh cases, accounting for the largest share. Bhusawal division followed with Rs 35.5 crore from 3.4 lakh cases.
Daily average: 11,000 cases, Rs 92 lakh
Ticket-checking teams recorded an average of 11,000 ticketless cases daily and collected nearly Rs 92 lakh in penalties every day across the five-month period.
August collections jump 41% despite fewer cases
Central Railway collected Rs 19.5 crore in August alone, up 41% from August 2025, even though detected cases fell slightly from 2.7 lakh to 2.5 lakh. Higher penalties drove the increase.
Minimum fine doubled to Rs 500
Central Railway increased the minimum penalty for ticketless travel from Rs 250 to Rs 500. Officials credited the revised penalty structure and intensive checking for higher collections.
Multiple enforcement tactics deployed
Central Railway uses surprise checks at stations, ambush inspections, station sweeps, and mega drives across mail, express, passenger, and suburban trains. The focus is on Mumbai and Pune divisions.
“This includes fortress checks, ambush inspections, station sweeps, and mega drives conducted across mail, express, passenger, special, and suburban trains in the Mumbai and Pune divisions.”
The takeaway
Indian Railways is aggressively cracking down on fare evasion through surprise checks and coordinated enforcement drives, generating significantly higher penalty revenue while citing the need to fund passenger amenities and infrastructure.