06 May,2024 05:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ticket checker examining tickets/ WR
To combat ticketless and irregular travel, Western Railway (WR) increased ticket checking drives on Mumbai suburban local services, Mail/Express, passenger trains, and holiday special trains in April 2024. WR recovered an amazing Rs 20.84 crore in fines, an almost 20 per cent increase from the same time the previous year.
According to Sumit Thakur, WR's Chief Public Relations Officer, the ticket-checking squad identified 2.94 lakh occurrences of ticketless or irregular travel, including unbooked luggage cases, during the month. Fines totalling Rs 5.57 crore were collected from the Mumbai Suburban region alone, with 98,000 cases recorded.
"In order to ensure hassle-free, comfortable travel & better services to all bonafide passengers over Western Railway, intensive ticket checking drives are being carried out continuously over Mumbai suburban local services, Mail/Express as well as passenger trains & holiday special trains so as to curb the menace of ticketless/irregular passengers. The highly motivated ticket-checking team under the supervision of senior commercial officers of Western Railway organized several ticket-checking drives in April 2024, thereby recovering an amount to the tune of Rs. 20.84 Crore, which also includes Rs. 5.57 Cr from the Mumbai Suburban section," Western Railway's media statement stated.
It added, "During the month of April 2024, an amount of Rs. 20.84 crore was recovered through the detection of 2.94 lakh ticketless/irregular passengers, including unbooked luggage cases. Also, in April, WR realized fines amounting to Rs.5.57 crore through the detection of 98 thousand cases over the Mumbai Suburban section."
To combat unauthorised admission onto AC local trains, WR conducted surprise ticket-checking campaigns in April 2024, penalising over 4000 people and collecting Rs13.71 lakhs in fines.
"To prevent unauthorized entry into AC local trains, frequent surprise ticket-checking drives are also being carried out. As a result of these drives more than 4000 unauthorized passengers were penalized in April 2024 and Rs. 13.71 lakhs were collected in fines," said the press statement issued by Thakur.
Additionally, WR introduced the "BATMAN 2.0" effort to reduce unauthorised ticket transit during the night. The campaign seeks to discourage commuters from travelling without tickets or in higher-class compartments, particularly at night. The BATMAN squad collected penalties of about Rs 3.40 lakhs on May 3, 4, and 5 nights.
"In addition to this, Western Railway also conducted the "BATMAN 2.0" ticket checking drive, which aims to put a check on the nuisance of unauthorized ticket travelling during the night hours. This initiative will deter the commuters from travelling without a ticket or travelling in a higher class, especially, during night time. Under this initiative, the BATMAN squad collected fines to the tune of almost Rs 3.40 lakh during the intervening nights of 03rd/04th and 04th/05th May 2024," said WR's statement.
WR encourages the public to travel with proper and valid tickets in order to avoid penalties and contribute to a smooth travel experience for all customers.
