WR TTEs to undergo breathalyser test before and after duty

Train ticket examiners (TTEs) with the Western Railway in Mumbai will now have to undergo breathalyser tests before and after their shifts. This decision comes after TTEs were found consuming alcohol before starting their night shifts. The railway administration has procured 28 breathalysers for this purpose and will also provide TTEs with bodycams. Special squads will be formed to check on TTEs inside trains and on platforms. The aim is to prevent TTEs from being under the influence of alcohol while on duty, which has led to instances of arguments with commuters.

Mumbai: In a first, train ticket examiners (TTEs) with the Western Railway (WR) will have to undergo breathalyser tests both before and after their duty hours. The decision was taken after WR officials conducted a surprise inspection and found TTEs consuming alcohol before starting their night shift.

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The WR administration has already procured 28 breathalysers, which have been placed in the official rooms of TTEs at Bandra Terminus on a trial basis. Breathalysers will also be placed in Mumbai Central Terminus, and TTEs will be provided with bodycams, said sources.

“TTEs will be required to use them before and after their shift and record the readings. We will also form special squads to check on TTEs inside trains and on platforms,” said a WR official on condition of anonymity.

WR has over 1,000 TTEs posted across the Mumbai division, and the idea of making them undergo breathalyser tests cropped up in August 2023, when three TTEs at Bandra Terminus were caught consuming alcohol in the rest area during the middle of the day. The TTEs were subsequently suspended.

“This is a much welcome step as there have been many instances of TTEs arguing with commuters over ticket checking, possibly because they were under the influence of alcohol,” said K Verma, member of a railway commuters’ association.

WR authorities are expected to administer breathalyser tests on TTEs inside railway offices at stations to prevent inconvenience to commuters.

Between April and December 2023, TTEs across the entire WR stretch collected ₹128 crore in fines, including ₹33.60 crore from the Mumbai suburban section. They also conducted surprise checks inside AC locals and detected 46,000 unauthorised passengers who paid ₹154.67 lakh in fines during the same period. Around 2.24 lakh ticketless commuters were detected in December alone, and fines collected from them amounted to ₹12.71 crore.