Railway reports indicate that most rail accidents occur due to the illegal crossing of railway tracks, often because commuters travel without a valid ticket and choose to cross railway tracks to escape checking.
The Western Railway conducted regular checks during February 2017 wherein near about 1.78 lakh cases of ticketless/irregular travel including unbooked luggage cases were detected, resulting in the recovery of Rs.7.36 crore. This figure which is more than the corresponding month of the last year.
The checking was conducted mainly to catch commuters who are crossing railway tracks and to punish them to avoid rail accidents but the rail authorities were shocked by the number of offenders and the amount collected as their fine.
During the month, 31 cases of illegal transfer of reserved tickets were detected. Besides, 984 beggars and unauthorised hawkers were apprehended, evicted, fined and more than 143 persons were sent to jail.
During this period, 202 checks were conducted against touts and other anti-social elements by Western Railway’s commercial department. As a result, 240 persons were apprehended and prosecuted and fined under various sections of the Indian Railways Act.
Western Railway regularly conducts a drive against ticketless travellers. In its endeavour to provide better services to its bona fide rail users and to curb ticketless travel, WR has regularly been taking necessary steps. Senior officers closely monitor the revenue loss due to ticketless travel and such other irregularities.
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