In an ongoing effort to curb unauthorised travel and maintain the integrity of the suburban railway system, the Mumbai Division of Central Railway (CR) has been conducting rigorous ticket-checking drives in local trains and at railway stations.
These special checks aim to penalise ticketless travellers while deterring others from engaging in irregular travel. CR has appealed its passengers to travel with dignity by purchasing proper and valid railway tickets in order to avoid inconvenience.
During this drive, it has come to light that the number of ticketless passengers traveling on CR's AC local trains has seen a sharp increase between April 2024 and January 2025.
The Suburban Railway System of Mumbai, one of its kind in the world and the most unique railway system transporting millions of commuters to every corner of the city, aptly known as the Lifeline of the City.
During the financial year 2024-25 (up to January 2025),Mumbai Division’s Ticket checking teams have detected and penalised 81,709 cases of irregular travel in AC locals and recovered an amount of Rs.2.70 crore as penalty.
In comparison the amount realised as penalty during the corresponding period last FY was Rs.1.19 crore from 35,885 cases of irregular travel which is a whooping increase of almost 127%.
During the month of January-2025, an amount of Rs.27.82 lakhs was realised from 8,535 cases of irregular travel as against Rs.11.83 lakhs from 3,511 cases during January-2024. This is an increase of 135.05% in revenue and 143.09% in no of cases.
In December the number of persons detected travelling without proper tickets were 9,134 in December-2024, 9,698 in November-2024 and 11,532 in October 2024.
An amount of Rs.29.56 lakhs was realised as penalty in December 2024, Rs.31.84 lakhs in November and Rs.37.45 lakhs in October 2024.
To further enhance the travel experience of passengers and curb irregular travel in AC locals, Central Railway's Mumbai Division has launched several initiatives, including:
•A dedicated AC Task Force in suburban trains
•A Whatsapp complaint number (7208819987) for assistance during peak hours
•A Special Monitoring Team to oversee issues of irregular travel
It may be noted that the dedicated number is only for messaging the issue on the given number and that no phone calls can be made on the same.
Mumbai Suburban Network of Central Railway carries approx. 3.9 million passengers every day through its 1810 services daily. Central Railway runs 66 AC local services daily carrying approximately 76,836 passengers per day.
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