Ticketless train travel cases surge back to pre-Covid numbers

The South Western Railway (SWR) returned to tackle a familiar challenge during 2021-22, as cases of ticketless travel clocked huge numbers after a sharp, Covid-19-driven fall in cases during the previous year.

Official figures revealed that 5.45 lakh cases of ticketless travel were registered in the railway zone during the year and Rs 32.16 crore collected as penalty from the offenders.

The corresponding figures for the previous years were 1.2 lakh cases and Rs 7.29 crore in penalty (2020-21) and 4.1 lakh and Rs 18.51 crore (2019-20), respectively.

A senior official in the South Western Railway Bengaluru division’s commercial department said with most of the train services back on schedule, the numbers could see a spike during the current year.

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The authorities, meanwhile, have also intensified the ticket-checking drives.

The SWR comprises three divisions — Hubballi, Bengaluru and Mysuru — with 84% of its route length in Karnataka.

“The checks are conducted in three ways — the officials verify the tickets at stations where the passengers arrive, the TTEs and dedicated squads conduct checks in the trains and there are times the officials also conduct ambush checks in stationary trains,” the official told DH.

The number of cases that involve travel with irregular tickets did not rise during the year — about 1,000 cases were registered and Rs 23 lakh was collected in fines. In 2020-21, SWR had registered around the same number of cases and collected Rs 68 lakh as fines. Cases pertaining to irregular tickets cover categories including over-travelling and travelling in coaches not assigned to the passengers. Recording of these cases is followed by a collection of the difference in fares from the passengers. Officials said passenger trains report more cases of travel with irregular tickets.

“The services have been almost fully restored after Covid. We are taking up more ticket-checking drives across the zone. Senior officials also join in some of the surprise checks,” a source in the SWR said.

The ticket-checking squads identify sections to conduct their checks based on inputs from the TTEs. Penalties for ticketless travel are collected based on provisions under the Railway Act, 1989.