Railways may hike fine for ticketless travel to Rs 1,000

MUMBAI: Ticketless travel may burn a big hole in the pockets of suburban train commuters if the Railway Board accepts a proposal by the Western Railway to effect a four-fold increase in fine from the existing Rs 250 to Rs 1,000. Officials feel the higher fine will act as a deterrent.


The fine amount of Rs 250 is at present common for first-class and second-class commuters. For years it was Rs 50, but was revised to Rs 250 in 2002. A senior WR official said, "During Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani's visit to Mumbai recently, we proposed an increase in the fine amount." While the board will take the final call, in case it accepts WR's proposal, the fine will apply to both the WR and CR suburban network.

The proposal had been sent earlier too, but the board has this time assured WR that it will be examined. A senior WR official said, "The fine amount should increase with inflation."

Officials said many commuters avoid buying a ticket or season ticket with the calculation that even if they are caught, the fine amount would be lower than the sum they would have to shell out for the average monthly season ticket for most destinations.

Ticket checking on the suburban system is random. Because the network does not have an access control system like the Metro, many commuters prefer to take a chance by travelling ticketless, which results in huge revenue losses for the railways. Around 3,000 ticketless travellers are caught on CR and 1,300 on WR every day. The daily earnings from the fines imposed are Rs15 lakh for CR and Rs5 lakh for WR; earnings from fares every day are Rs7 crore on CR and Rs5 crore on WR.

Commuters said the fine amount should increase, but there should be two categories: a lower sum for second-class commuters and a higher one for those travelling first-class. A commuter, Manish Vyas said, "Rs1,000 is too steep a fine for second-class commuters as many may genuinely forget to renew their season ticket on time. The second-class fine should be Rs500."

A first-class commuter from Borivli, Shridhar H, said, "Rs1,000 is the ideal amount as the present fine is so low that it is hardly a deterrent. The railways should outsource ticket-checking work to an agency after floating tenders."