If you are planning to travel in a local train without a ticket, think twice, as very soon, the Western Railway (WR) might increase the fine four-fold from the existing ₹250 to ₹1,000. If the railway board accepts WR’s proposal, the fine will be applicable to both WR and CR suburban network. WR officials believe that a higher fine will act as a deterrent.
At present, the fine amount is ₹250 for both first-class and second-class commuters. Initially, it was ₹50 which was later revised to ₹250 in 2002.
A senior WR official informed that they had proposed an increase in the fine amount to Railway Board Chairman Ashwani Lohani on his visit to Mumbai.
As per the officials, many commuters avoid buying a ticket or season ticket thinking that if they are caught, the fine amount would be lower than the sum they would pay for the monthly season ticket. Also, ticket checking is very random which encourages commuters to travel ticket-less that results in huge revenue losses for the railways.
Every day, around 3,000 ticketless travellers are caught on CR and 1,300 on WR. The daily earnings from the fines imposed are ₹15 lakh for CR and ₹5 lakh for WR; earnings from fares every day are ₹7 crore on CR and ₹5 crore on WR.
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