Central Railway Penalty Collection Jumps 61% After Ticketless Fine Hike

Central Railway's Mumbai Division has reported a sharp rise in penalty collection from ticketless passengers following the increase in the minimum fine from INR 250 to INR 500. While ticketless travel cases fell by around 4% between July 1 and July 16, penalty recovery surged by over 61% during the same period.

The revised penalty came into effect on June 21 under the Jan Vishwas (Amendment) Act, 2026. Between June 21 and July 16, the Mumbai Division detected 1.21 lakh cases of ticketless and unauthorised travel, down 2.8% from the previous year. However, total penalty collection increased from INR 5.08 crore to INR 8.66 crore, a rise of nearly 70%.

Railway officials said the higher fine is helping deter ticketless travel and encouraging passengers to buy valid tickets. They added that special ticket-checking drives will continue to curb unauthorised travel across the suburban network.