The Central Railway has intensified its ticket checking campaign against individuals traveling without tickets or unauthorizedly on its network. Between April and August, various railway teams conducted checks in approximately 1.8 million cases, resulting in the collection of a total of 140.8 crore rupees in fines.
According to a senior railway official, the revenue from fines for this period increased by approximately 40% compared to the same period last year.
During these five months, covering April to August, inspection groups continuously carried out checks on various trains and stations. On average, about 11,000 checks were conducted daily against passengers, generating around 92,000 rupees daily.
Officials note that the increase in collections is due not only to stricter inspections but also to the change in the minimum fine amount for traveling without a ticket.
According to the Central Railway management, the minimum fine for traveling without a ticket was raised from 250 to 500 rupees. Simultaneously, control and inspections were strengthened. The railway administration indicates that both these factors influenced the overall fine collection.
The railway also continues to urge passengers to travel with valid tickets.
Among the various divisions, the Mumbai Division contributed the most to the collection, processing about 8.8 lakh cases and collecting 58.5 crore rupees. This was followed by the Bhusaval Division, which collected 35.5 crore rupees after inspecting about 3.4 lakh cases.
This demonstrates that the ticket checking campaign was conducted on a large scale across different parts of the vast railway network. Furthermore, the Pune Division of the Central Railway collected 16.3 crore rupees, and the Nagpur Division collected 15.8 crore rupees. The Solapur Division added 6.1 crore rupees, and the Central Railway headquarters contributed 8.6 crore rupees to the total collection.
Thus, thanks to the efforts of all divisions and the headquarters, a total of 140.8 crore rupees was collected between April and August.
The effect of the campaign was also visible in August. The Central Railway collected 19.5 crore rupees in August, which is approximately 41% more than in August 2025. Notably, the number of detected cases slightly decreased: in August 2025, about 2.7 lakh cases were registered, while in the current August, this figure dropped to approximately 2.5 lakh.
In the opinion of railway officials, the decrease in cases and the increase in fine amounts may be related to stricter control and higher penalties. Various operations were launched as part of the campaign, including Fortress Check, Ambush Inspection, Station Sweep, and Mega Drive. These operations were conducted on Mail, Express, Passenger, Special, and Suburban trains.
Special checks were conducted in the Mumbai and Pune Divisions on Mail, Express, Passenger, Special, and Sub-Urban trains. Railway teams conduct surprise checks, large-scale station inspections, and major ticket checking campaigns to hold accountable passengers traveling without valid tickets. Railway officials also emphasized that traveling without a valid ticket is a crime under railway laws.
