In the months of April and June, Indian Railways’ western and central zones collected an average of Rs 1 lakh per day in penalties from passengers who boarded the air-conditioned local trains in Mumbai without a ticket. According to official statistics, 325 persons were discovered traveling without a ticket every day on average.
Since April 1, the Western Railway has discovered 19,600 unauthorized passengers and has amassed penalties totaling Rs. 65.23 lakh, while the Central Zone has discovered 9,593 passengers who were traveling without a ticket and has amassed fines totaling Rs. 31.92 lakh.
The western and central zones of the Indian Railways run the Mumbai local trains, dubbed the lifeblood of the nation’s financial hub. The Western Railway operates 79 services with six AC local trains, while the Central Railway operates 56 services with four trains in the suburban sector.
The Western Railway said that numerous surprise inspections were carried out to prevent unauthorized entrance in AC local trains. “As a result, between April and June, more than 19,600 unauthorized passengers were penalized, and Rs 65.23 lakh in fines were collected, which is over 179 percent higher than the same period last year,” it added.
One of the most popular forms of transportation in the city is local trains or suburban services. The western zone reported conducting thorough ticket inspections on Mumbai suburban services, mail and express as well as passenger trains and holiday specials in order to prevent ticketless and irregular passengers from boarding local trains and to provide a good travel experience.
The zone said that during the months of April through June, “the highly motivated ticket checking team organized several drives, recovering an amount of Rs 50.83 crore, including Rs 13.26 crore from the Mumbai suburban section.”
The Central Railway claims that between April and June, 49.47 lakh people traveled on its AC local trains, bringing in Rs 23.36 million in revenue.