Central Railway has collected fines worth Rs 141.27 crore in 23.76 lakh cases of unauthorised and ticketless travel between April and October in the ongoing financial year (2025-26).
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Central Railway said that this marks an 8 per cent rise in the number of offenders compared to the 22.09 lakh cases reported during the same period last year. The total fine amount collected has also increased by about 14 per cent from Rs 124.36 crore in 2024-25.
In October alone, ticket-checking teams apprehended 3.71 lakh passengers travelling without valid tickets, compared to the 3 lakh cases in October 2024, thereby recording a rise of nearly 24 per cent. Fines recovered during the month nearly doubled, with Rs 24.81 crore collected as against Rs 12.74 crore last year, which is an increase of around 95 per cent.
Division-wise breakdown of fines collected between April and October
Bhusaval Division: Rs 51.74 crore from 6.07 lakh cases
Mumbai Division: Rs 40.59 crore from 9.63 lakh cases
Nagpur Division: Rs 15.62 crore from 2.53 lakh cases
Pune Division: Rs 15.57 crore from 2.67 lakh cases
Solapur Division: Rs 6.72 crore from 1.41 lakh cases
Headquarters: Rs 11.03 crore from 1.45 lakh cases.
Central Railway said it has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to check unauthorised travel, including station checks, ambush and fortress operations, and large-scale ticket inspection drives. These efforts are being conducted across mail/express, passenger, special, and suburban trains in Mumbai and Pune divisions.
To curb irregular travel in Mumbai’s AC local services, Central Railway has also set up a dedicated air-conditioned (AC) local ticket-checking squad. The suburban network operates 1,810 services every day, including 80 AC local trains. The special squad uses a 24X7 WhatsApp helpline — 7208819987 — to respond to commuter complaints and recovers an average of Rs 1.19 lakh in penalties from around 368 cases daily.
Central Railway appealed to commuters to travel with valid tickets, reiterating its zero-tolerance policy towards ticketless travel. “Passengers are requested to travel with dignity and responsibility to avoid inconvenience and penalties,” the Central Railway press release added.
