Archive · 27 Jul 2026
Central Railway's Q1 ticketless travel penalties rise 43%
Central Railway has seen a big increase in fines for people traveling without tickets.
In the first three months of this year, they caught almost 13 lakh people and collected over Rs 101 crore in fines.
This is a lot more than last year, with a 43% increase in fines.
The Mumbai division had the most fines.
The railway says the higher fines are to stop people from not buying tickets, which hurts their revenue.
They also did more checks to catch people without tickets.
The railway wants people to buy tickets before they travel to avoid fines and have a smoother trip.
Central Railway booked 12.86 lakh passengers for ticketless travel in Q1 2026.
Fines collected were Rs 101.21 crore, a 43% increase from last year.
Mumbai division had the highest fines, collecting Rs 40.60 crore.
The minimum fine for ticketless travel was doubled to Rs 500.
Railway authorities increased ticket checks to deter fare evasion.
- Who
- Central Railway authorities and passengers
- What
- Increase in ticketless travel penalties
- When
- April to June 2026
- Where
- Central Railway zones, particularly Mumbai
- Why
- To deter ticketless travel and recover lost revenue
Railway Authorities
Passengers
Increase in Penalties
Railway Authorities
The increase in penalties is necessary to deter ticketless travel and recover lost revenue.
Passengers
The increased penalties are burdensome and may disproportionately affect lower-income passengers.
- Period
- April to June 2026
- Total Cases
- 12.86 lakh
- Total Fines Collected
- Rs 101.21 crore
- Year-on-Year Increase in Cases
- 14%
- Year-on-Year Increase in Fines
- 43%
- Highest Fines Division
- Mumbai
- Minimum Fine
- Rs 500