Pune: Railway Crackdown on Ticketless Travelers Nets Over Rs 3 Crore in April
Pune, 3rd May 2024: As summer vacations and the Lok Sabha elections drive up travel demand, railway authorities are cracking down on ticketless travelers. The Pune Division of Central Railway has reported collecting fines exceeding three crore rupees from ticketless passengers in April alone.
With a surge in passengers, particularly heading to northern states for vacations and political events, many are attempting to board trains without tickets, causing inconvenience to genuine travelers. To tackle this issue, additional staff have been deployed at Pune station, focusing primarily on ticket inspection.
During April, railway officials conducted a robust ticket checking campaign, resulting in the apprehension of 35,219 ticketless passengers. These individuals collectively paid fines amounting to Rs 3.12 crore, averaging a staggering Rs 10 lakh per day in fines from fare evaders.
Authorities took action against 14,463 irregular travelers who purchased station tickets instead of full journey tickets, collecting fines totaling Rs 93.90 lakh from them. Additionally, fines amounting to Rs 33,690 were imposed on 243 passengers found carrying luggage without proper registration.
This crackdown on ticketless travel was spearheaded by Divisional Railway Manager Indu Dubey and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Dr. Milind Hirve, in coordination with Ticket Inspectors and Railway Security Force personnel.
