Nearly Rs 262 crore in penalties has been recovered from ticketless and irregular passengers across Mumbai’s suburban railway network during the current financial year, following intensified enforcement drives conducted by railway authorities. The large amount has been collected through systematic ticket-checking operations carried out by both Central Railway and Western Railway across the city’s busy local train system.
It has been reported by railway officials that a portion of these fines was generated from passengers travelling in AC local trains without valid tickets. Around Rs 7 crore in penalties has been collected from such violations over the past year. Targeted surprise inspections were carried out on AC suburban services in order to prevent passengers holding general-class tickets from entering air-conditioned coaches.
In the Mumbai division of Central Railway, more than 16.16 lakh cases of irregular travel were detected during the 2025–26 financial year across suburban, mail, and express trains. Penalties amounting to Rs 71.31 crore were imposed in these cases. It was stated by Central Railway chief spokesperson Swapnil Nila that the figures represented “a 2 per cent increase in cases and a 4 per cent rise in revenue compared with the previous year.”
A substantial number of violations were also recorded during individual months. In February alone, about 1.65 lakh cases of irregular travel were detected and fines worth Rs 8.58 crore were collected by Central Railway authorities. A higher volume of enforcement cases was reported by Western Railway during the same period. Between April 2025 and February 2026, nearly 30 lakh cases of ticketless or irregular travel were detected. These cases included offences such as travelling without valid tickets as well as carrying unbooked luggage. Penalties exceeding Rs 191 crore were recovered through these enforcement actions. According to Western Railway chief spokesperson Vineet Abhishek, the increase was described as “a 42 per cent rise compared with the same period last year.”
Further enforcement activity was recorded in February 2026, when nearly three lakh violations were detected across Western Railway services. Around Rs 18.5 crore in penalties was collected during the month, which was described as “an increase of more than 10 per cent compared with the previous year.” Data released by Central Railway has shown that the highest number of violations occurred in second-class compartments. Around 11.68 lakh cases were recorded in this category, leading to penalties totalling Rs 58.6 crore. First-class coaches accounted for about 1.46 lakh violations and fines amounting to Rs 4.66 crore, while AC suburban trains recorded 1.1 lakh cases that generated Rs 3.51 crore in penalties.
Additional penalties were also collected from other categories of offences. About Rs 2.98 crore was recovered from more than 50,000 cases involving fare differences in mail and express trains. Meanwhile, nearly 1.4 lakh cases related to unbooked luggage resulted in penalties totalling Rs 1.56 crore during the April 2025 to February 2026 period. Railway authorities have stated that ticket-checking drives will continue across the suburban network in the coming months. Through sustained enforcement measures, it is expected that ticketless travel will be reduced and compliance with railway ticketing rules will be strengthened across Mumbai’s local train system.
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