East Coast Railway collects Rs 31.5 crore fine from irregular travellers

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to curb ticketless travel and discourage irregular travellers, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has initiated stringent measures in areas under its jurisdiction spread over three divisions in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

According to a statement issued by the Railways, the ECoR has imposed fine on more than 1.76 lakh passengers who were found travelling ticketless while more than 4.98 lakh passengers have been fined for travelling with irregular journey tickets during the last financial year.

Apart from this, more than 1.23 lakh passengers were imposed with fines for unbooked luggage or carrying excess luggage during their train journey. The ECoR has collected Rs 31.5 crore from 7.98 lakh cases.

“Fine and journey fare of Rs 8.21 crore from ticketless travellers, Rs 22.2 crore from irregular travellers and Rs 1.1 crore from passengers with unbooked or carrying excess luggage during 2018-19,” said a railway official.

Commercial officers from the zonal headquarters at Bhubaneswar and from all the three divisions at Khurda Road, Waltair and Sambalpur have been actively monitoring such fortress checks to detect persons travelling without or with improper tickets.