Advance ticket booking deadline reduced to 60 days

Railways Ministry steps up crackdown on ticketless travel

This decision particularly targets police officers, who are among the frequent offenders, revealed a railway official.

“During a recent surprise check between Ghaziabad and Kanpur, we found hundreds of policemen traveling in AC coaches without tickets. At first, they refused to pay the fines and threatened us, but we stood our ground and we charged,” the official said.

He added: “Passengers were delighted and surprised to see action taken against police personnel.”

Ticketless police travel disrupts passenger experience

Ticket enforcement officials in the North Central Railway Zone said they were focusing on unauthorized travelers, especially police officers, as they cause problems for valid ticket holders.

Train ticket inspectors agree, calling the police the biggest offenders.

Not only are they violating the law by traveling without tickets, but they are also harassing legitimate passengers by demanding they share berths and intimidating railway staff when action is taken against them.

This behavior has made it a priority in enforcement efforts during traffic ticket checks.

What a senior railway official said

“Dealing with WT police officers is a nightmare as they not only misbehave with us but often threaten to file false complaints to harass us,” said Sanjay Singh, president of Enforcement Staff Organization Indian Railways Tickets (IRTCSO).

Singh added, “Of late, several videos have gone viral on social media platforms, in which policemen fought with railway staff, TTEs and ordinary passengers when confronted for producing tickets valid. I request the respective police departments to take exemplary action against these police personnel.

Indian Railways reports high incidence of ticketless travel

Traveling without a ticket remains one of the most common violations on Indian Railways.

In response to an RTI query from Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Indian Railways revealed that during the financial year 2023-24, authorities arrested 361.045 lakh passengers traveling without or on improper tickets, collecting 2231, ₹74 crore in fines.

To ensure the comfort of passengers during the festive season, the ministry has directed the zones to “appoint senior officers to monitor such movements” and submit their feedback by November 18, as mentioned in the ministry’s letter.