Mumbai trains: WR in crackdown mode on ticketless travel, steep fines introduced

Western Railway ramps up ticketless travel crackdowns with high penalty targets for ticket checkers, sparking discontent among ticket collectors

Mumbai: Ticketless travellers, beware—the Western Railway (WR) is ramping up its crackdown, and slipping through the cracks just got a lot harder. The railway is expecting to mop up a sizeable windfall in penalties, especially during the Diwali season, having instructed its ticket checkers (TCs) to step up vigilance against freeloading commuters.

The move has upset TCs, who have been set targets which they claim are unreasonable. (HT PHOTO)

The move has upset TCs, who have been set targets which they claim are unreasonable – ₹8,000 to ₹15,000 a day. In addition, the railway has devised an arithmetical formula to determine the fines each TC has to collect and to evaluate their performance.

The targets apply to TCs on the Mumbai Division, which extends from Mumbai to Surat to Nandurbar. It includes both suburban local trains as well as long-distance trains.

According to WR sources, by March next year, the Mumbai Division of the railway must collect ₹101 crore in penalties. Until September, ₹34 crore had been collected, which means ticket checkers have to collect almost double that sum in the next six months. Interestingly, the target for the Mumbai Division is double the target for all six divisions of the railway, which is ₹200 crore.

The targets are mentioned in a letter written by the WR administration to its TCs. Dated October 14 and titled ‘Maximizing Performance of Ticket Checking Staff’, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times, it states that in 2023-24, the WR (all divisions) achieved an “exceptional milestone” by collecting ₹174 crore in penalties from ticketless passengers. “This remarkable achievement surpassed the target of ₹140 crore by an impressive 24%, marking a record-breaking success in WR’s ticket checking history.”

Referring to the target for 2024-25, it added, “Of this target, until the month of September, Mumbai Central division (Mumbai division) has achieved only ₹34.85 cr ticket checking revenue, which is 25.76% shorter than the cumulative target till September 2024. As we approach the busy Diwali and Chhath season this year, the next two months will be demanding and are crucial for making up the shortfall in the target.”

The letter added, “Increased passenger numbers due to Diwali peak season means greater responsibilities for each of us. To ensure smooth operations and enhanced productivity, the division has formulated the following performance parameters that will help track and improve your work and help in attaining the target.”

The administration has stated that action will be taken against poor performers, and TCs who excel will be rewarded during the Diwali period.

Senior WR officials said this is the first time the administration has worked out a formula to assess the performance of its ticket checking staff. “This will also tell us how many ticket checkers are doing their job. We have made it clear that each group of 10 TCs cannot have less than six TCs and each one’s performance will be monitored,” explained an official.

The new target has upset ticket checkers and their union representatives, who said the new mandate would put undue pressure on them. Currently, there are around 3,500 staff in the commercial department of the Mumbai Division. They work either as ticket checkers, are a part of special ticket checking squads, and issue tickets at ticket windows. Of these 1,200 are purely TCs, who are tasked with collecting fines.

A senior railway employee said there are various reasons why penalties have decreased. “For instance, ever since the railway decided to not allow waitlisted ticket holders to travel in long-distance trains, a major chunk of revenue potential has been lost. Over the last few months the penalties have declined as the railways have disallowed passengers with wait listed tickets to travel. In the past, these passengers had to bear the fine and were allowed to travel till their destination station. Now, however, a waitlisted passenger is asked to disembark at the next station and the fine applies only for the distance already travelled.