Diwali 2026: No Western Railway mega block on November 8; Mumbai local trains to run as usual

In a relief for Mumbai local train commuters Western Railway has announced that there will be no block on its suburban section on Sunday November 8 2026 keeping local train services running as usualThe decision has been taken in view of the Diwali festival to ensure comfortable and convenient travel for passengersWestern Railway said that no maintenance block will be undertaken on its suburban section on SundayThe move is aimed at avoiding inconvenience to passengers during the festive period when a large number of people are expected to travel across Mumbai and its suburbs to celebrate Diwali with family and friends officials saidWith the cancellation of the scheduled block commuters can expect suburban train services to operate as per their regular timetableSunday maintenance blocks are generally carried out to undertake essential engineering and maintenance work on railway tracks and infrastructurePassengers travelling on the Western Railway suburban network can therefore plan their journeys without having to account for the usual Sunday blockrelated disruptions officials saidWR catches 1793 lakh passengers for ticketless irregular travelMeanwhile in a separate statement Western Railway said that ithas collected more than Rs 138 crore in fines from passengers travelling without tickets travelling with irregular tickets or carrying unbooked luggage between April and October 2026 an official statement saidDuring this period railway ticketchecking staff caught 1793 lakh cases across its network it saidAccording to a statement issued by Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek a total of Rs 13805 crore was recovered during the sevenmonth period through intensive ticketchecking drives across suburban local trains longdistance Mail and Express trains passenger services and holiday special trainsThe figures also show a sharp rise in unauthorised travel on AC suburban local trains with cases increasing by more than 82 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year officials saidWR collects Rs 2153 crore in OctoberThe Western Railway said that in October 2026 alone Western Railway caught more than 244 lakh passengers travelling without tickets or with irregular tickets Fines amounting to Rs 2153 crore were recovered from themThe railway said the drives were conducted under the active supervision of senior Commercial Department officials to prevent revenue losses and encourage passengers to travel with valid ticketsOn the Mumbai suburban section ticketchecking teams detected 628 lakh cases of ticketless and irregular travel between April and October 2026It said that the drives resulted in the recovery of approximately Rs 36 crore in fines highlighting the railways efforts to curb unauthorised travel across its suburban networkAC local ticket violations rise by 82 per centWestern Railway said that it has also stepped up targeted checks on Mumbai AC suburban local trains to prevent passengers holding ordinary tickets from travelling in AC coaches without valid AC ticketsDuring AprilOctober 2026 around 113 lakh such cases were detected on AC suburban services It represents an increase of more than 82 per cent compared with the same period last year