Central Railway collected ₹101.21 crore in fines from ticketless travellers this April to June quarter, a sharp jump from last year.

Over that three month period, ticket checking staff caught 12.86 lakh people travelling without valid tickets. Compare that to the same quarter last year, when 11.34 lakh cases were recorded and just ₹70.72 crore was collected in penalties.

That works out to a 14% rise in the number of cases caught, but a much steeper 43% jump in the money recovered. Mumbai division brought in the most revenue by far, collecting ₹40.60 crore from 6.02 lakh cases.

Bhusawal came in second with ₹28.06 crore from 2.66 lakh cases, followed by Pune at ₹11.11 crore from 1.29 lakh cases.

Nagpur wasn’t far behind at ₹10.91 crore, while Solapur and the railway’s headquarters added ₹4.10 crore and ₹6.43 crore respectively.

It’s interesting to note that in June alone, the number of people apprehended remained relatively constant year over year, hovering around 3.55 lakh cases as opposed to 3.54 lakh in June of last year. Yet the fine amount collected still rose 24%, from ₹20.85 crore to ₹25.85 crore.

Railway officials point to a change from the Ministry of Railways, which doubled the minimum fine for travelling without a ticket, from ₹250 to ₹500.

Since the implementation of that change, Central Railway has also increased the number of station inspections, ambush inspections, and extensive ticket checks throughout its Mail, Express, Passenger and suburban services in both the Mumbai and Pune regions.

Officials reiterated that ticketless travel remains a punishable offence under the Railways Act, and that the fines collected help fund passenger amenities and safety upgrades. The railway has urged commuters to simply buy their tickets before boarding to avoid the hassle altogether.

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