Mumbai: Western Railway conducts massive ticket checking drives from April to Dec 2023, collects Rs 128 crore as fines

Pic/WR

The Western Railway's Mumbai division on Monday said that it conducted massive ticket checking drives from April to December 2023 and was successful in collecting Rs 128 crore as fines.

In an official statement, the Western Railway said that in order to ensure hassle-free, comfortable travel and better services to all bonafide passengers over Western Railway, intensive ticket checking drives are being carried out over the Mumbai suburban local services, Mail/Express as well as passenger trains and holiday special trains to curb the menace of ticketless/irregular passengers.

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The Western Railway said, "The ticket checking staff worked with full zeal the team under the supervision of senior commercial officers of Western Railway organised several ticket checking drives during the months from April to December 2023. During the drives, a recovery of Rs 128.42 crore was made. The fines also include Rs 33.60 crore from Mumbai suburban section."

According to a press release issued by Sumit Thakur - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, during the month of December, 2023, Rs. 12.71 crore was recovered through detection of 2.24 lakh ticketless/irregular passengers, including unbooked luggage cases. Also, in the month of December, Western Railway realised fines amounting to Rs. 3.54 crore through detection of about 91,000 cases over Mumbai suburban section. To prevent unauthorised entry in Mumbai AC local trains, frequent surprise ticket checking drives are carried out. As a result of these drives more than 46,000 unauthorised passengers have been penalised during the period April to December 2023 and Rs 154.67 lakh collected in fines, which is about 50 per cent higher than the same period of last year.

Western Railway appeals to the general public to travel with proper and valid tickets, the Western Railway said in a statement.

Meanwhile, two international-level medallist athletes working as ticket checkers on Western Railway Mumbai caught a woman commuter, who works as a software engineer, with fake season tickets (passes) on board the AC local train.

"In AC local between Virar and Churchgate at 9.23 am, two fake passes bearing serial number D 39503073 were detected by deputy chief ticketing inspectors Harpreet Kaur and Jaswinder Kaur. When enquired, the passenger said she had bought the pass from a shop that displayed the railway booking board. She said that she had paid Rs 1,880 for the pass from December 29, 2022 to January 28, 2023 and paid Rs 2,548 for another pass from September 29 to December 28, 2022. As per her statement, she was told by the shopkeeper that the passes were available at discounted rates. The passenger has been detained by the police and further proceedings are being carried out at the police station," Western Railway chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur said.