Chennai division of Southern Railway records steep fall in ticketless travel
Data from the Southern Railway accessed by DT Next showed that the number of ticketless passengers in 2021-22 was 6,53,449 lakh passengers and a fine amount of Rs 32.03 crore was collected from them.
EMU trains
CHENNAI: The Chennai division of Southern Railway recorded a sharp fall in the number of ticketless passengers in the 2023-24 financial year. Compared to the previous year, the number of ticketless cases fell by 2,84,258 cases and stood at 5,11,863.
Data from the Southern Railway accessed by DT Next showed that the number of ticketless passengers in 2021-22 was 6,53,449 lakh passengers and a fine amount of Rs 32.03 crore was collected from them.
In 2022-23, the Railway authorities penalised 7,96,121 lakh passengers to the tune of Rs 37.87 crores for ticketless travel. In the 2023-24 fiscal, the fine amount stood at Rs 29.04 crore. Till August 15 in the current financial year, 2,51,574 lakh passengers have been penalised and Rs 10.53 crore was levied from them for ticketless travel.
B Vishwanath Eerya, Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai division of Southern Railway, said, "Installing additional automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) and unreserved ticketing system (UTS) app have made it easy to buy tickets and helped people avoid queue. It contributed to a significant reduction in ticketless travel. Intensification of ticket-checking drives also contributed to the reduction."
The penalty collected from ticketless passengers is based on the distance between the boarding and deboarding stations. The minimum amount collected as fine is Rs 500 (including the actual cost of the ticket).
WHAT THE ACT SAYS
Under Section 137 of the Railways Act, a person fraudulently traveling or attempting to travel without proper pass or ticket shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to Rs 1,000 or with both, if they are hesitating to pay the fine amount in the first case.
