A’bad division alone collects over Rs 11cr fine in seven months
In a bid to curb ticketless travel, the Ahmedabad Division of Western Railway has collected over Rs 11.61 crore in fines from passengers without valid tickets between April 1 and October 31, 2024. The railway staff recorded about 1.53 lakh cases of ticketless travel during the period. They also fined 1,721 passengers for littering on railway premises, collecting an additional Rs 2.91 lakh.
“This drive involved extra ticket-checking staff and support from the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at key stations like Maninagar, Nadiad, Asarva, Dahegam, and Ahmedabad, as well as across sections like Mehsana Palanpur and Palanpur Gandhidham,” said Annu Tyagi, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager-Ahmedabad.
Across the entire Western Railway (WR) network, over Rs 80.56 crore in fines was collected from ticketless and irregular travellers between April and October this year. This includes Rs 26.60 crore from Mumbai’s Suburban section alone. In October, WR identified 2.09 lakh cases, bringing in Rs 12. 10 crore in fines, with Rs 3.90 crore from around 93,000 cases in the suburban section.
Special checks targeted unauthorised passengers in AC local trains and caught 34,800 people and collected Rs 1.15 crore as penalty. Officials say these checks help ensure smoother travel for those with tickets, and they plan to continue these efforts.
Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway Vineet Abhishek said, “These ticket-checking drives are part of our ongoing efforts to ensure a safer and more comfortable experience for genuine passengers. Funds collected from the fine are sent to a consolidated Railway account to be used for railway welfare initiatives.”