Train travel just got a clean-up, and it is passenger convenience, comfort, and, most importantly, justice for those who buy tickets. The Railway Police Force (RPF) of Central Railway has cracked down on 1367 touts and illegal seat blockers. What the prime concern was, and so became the focus, was the notorious practice of ‘towel spreading’. This is a ‘tactic’ where unauthorised passengers occupy reserved berths and seats using towels, bags or handkerchiefs before genuine passengers board. They simply put them on the seats, illegally ‘reserving’ them in that way and keeping the genuine, ticket-buying passenger off the seat. A senior officer stated that this nuisance, common on long-distance trains, has become a major problem for passengers travelling with confirmed reservations.

What was needed was a large-scale operation to weed out illegal seat occupation and see that only genuine passengers get their seats. Action was taken, and besides other offences, officials stated that the operation was aimed at restoring reserved coaches to genuine ticket holders.