Western Railway collects Rs 83.25 crore from over 11.3 lakh ticketless passengers in four months

The drives covered Mumbai suburban local trains, Mail and Express services, passenger trains, and holiday special trains. Representational pic

Western Railway (WR) collected Rs 83.25 crore in penalties after detecting more than 11.30 lakh ticketless and irregular passengers during extensive ticket-checking drives conducted between April and July.

The drives, carried out under the supervision of senior commercial officers, covered Mumbai suburban local trains, Mail and Express services, passenger trains, and holiday special trains to curb ticketless travel, prevent revenue leakage and promote travel discipline.

According to Western Railway, more than 1.80 lakh ticketless and irregular passengers were detected in July alone, resulting in the collection of nearly Rs 14.50 crore in fines.

The railway also intensified ticket checking in AC suburban local trains to prevent unauthorised travel by passengers holding general class tickets.

Between April and July, officials detected more than 64,000 violations in AC suburban services, collecting Rs 2.45 crore in penalties - an increase of nearly 162 per cent compared with Rs 93.40 lakh collected during the corresponding period last year.

In one such enforcement drive, Arvind Singh, Chief Commercial Ticket Checker (CCTC) of the Mumbai Central Division, caught a passenger travelling with a forged UTS mobile ticket generated using a fake mobile application linked to a genuine ticket number.

During verification, officials found that the passenger had downloaded the fraudulent application through a YouTube link. An FIR was subsequently registered at the Mumbai Central Police Station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

WR advised passengers to remain vigilant against fraudulent ticketing applications and report any suspicious activities to railway officials or the Government Railway Police (GRP).

RPF registered 1,676 railway ticket touting cases in five years: RTI

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) registered 1,676 cases of illegal railway ticket touting between 2022 and June 2026, according to information obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

The data was secured by Mumbai-based RTI activist Anil Galgali from the Central Railway Headquarters in Mumbai.

The details show that railway tickets worth several crores of rupees were seized during the anti-touting operations.

Cases increased before falling in 2025

According to the RTI reply, the RPF registered:

- 309 cases in 2022

- 399 cases in 2023

- 502 cases in 2024 (the highest during the five-year period)

- 356 cases in 2025

- 110 cases up to June 2026

The figures indicate that action against ticket touting remained consistent over the years, with the highest number of cases recorded in 2024.

Tickets worth crores seized

The RPF seized Journey-cum-Reservation (JCR) tickets worth Rs 88.49 lakh, e-tickets worth more than Rs 9.62 crore.

The seizures were made during operations targeting illegal ticket touts and unauthorised agents across the Central Railway network.

Hundreds of touts and agents arrested

The RTI data also reveals significant arrests during the crackdown.

Authorities arrested:

- 2022: 318 touts and 52 agents

- 2023: 356 touts and 141 agents

- 2024: 411 touts and 204 agents

- 2025: 429 touts and 13 agents

- Up to July 2026: 127 touts

No unauthorised agents have been arrested so far in 2026, according to the information provided.

Railway employees also booked

The RTI reply shows that a small number of railway employees were also found involved in ticket touting cases.

One railway employee was arrested in 2022, two in 2023 and four in 2024. No railway employee was arrested in either 2025 or 2026.