Central Railway booked 12.86 lakh passengers for travelling without valid tickets in the first quarter of the current financial year, April to June, and recovered Rs 101.21 crore in fines from them, the zone announced.
The figures show a marked jump from the corresponding period last year, when 11.34 lakh such cases were detected, and Rs 70.72 crore was collected in penalties. That amounts to a 14% increase in cases and a 43% rise in penalty revenue year-on-year.
Central Railway ticketless travel: Mumbai division records highest fines
Of Central Railway’s six divisions, Mumbai brought in the most revenue, with Rs 40.60 crore collected from 6.02 lakh detected cases. Bhusawal division came next, generating Rs 28.06 crore from 2.66 lakh cases.
Pune division ranked third on the list, collecting Rs 11.11 crore in fines from 1.29 lakh cases over the quarter. Nagpur division was close behind with Rs 10.91 crore from 1.54 lakh cases, while Solapur division added Rs 4.10 crore and the railway’s headquarters contributed Rs 6.43 crore.
Central Railway ticketless travel cases remain steady in June, but fines rise 24%
Looking at June 2026 in isolation, ticket-checking staff caught 3.55 lakh commuters travelling without tickets, barely different from the 3.54 lakh cases logged in June last year. Yet the money recovered went up considerably, from Rs 20.85 crore in June 2025 to Rs 25.85 crore this June, a rise of roughly 24%.
Revised minimum fine behind the surge, say officials
Railway officials pointed to the Ministry of Railways’ move to double the minimum fine for ticketless travel, from Rs 250 to Rs 500, as the main driver of the higher collections.
Since that change came into effect, Central Railway said it has ramped up its checking operations, deploying station checks, ambush checks, fortress checks and large-scale ticket-checking drives across Mail/Express, Passenger and Special trains, as well as suburban services in both the Mumbai and Pune regions.
Officials noted that travelling without a ticket continues to be a punishable offence under the Railways Act and eats into revenue that could otherwise fund passenger amenities, safety upgrades and infrastructure development. The zone maintained that it has a zero-tolerance approach to fare evasion.
Central Railway also urged commuters to buy tickets before they board, noting that doing so would spare them the hassle of penalties and contribute to a smoother travel experience overall.