Despite regular checks and imposition of fines on ticketless passengers, ticketless travelling is still rife in Tiruchi Railway Division.
A large number of cases booked against ticketless travellers at different places in the division this year and last year point to the continuance of the offence. In fact, there has been a spurt in the number of ticketless travel cases booked this fiscal compared to last year in the Tiruchi division that encompasses over 10 revenue districts in Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Puducherry.
In the last 11 months (April to February), the Commercial Department of the Tiruchi Railway Division had booked 69,203 ticketless travel cases and had realised a fine of Rs. 3.38 crore. This was higher than the number of cases booked in 2013-14 fiscal when 63,501 cases were registered and Rs. 2.74 crore was collected in fine.
Surprise checks by teams of ticket checking staff, assisted by Railway Protection Force personnel, on board trains and on platforms have caught many ticketless travellers off guard leading to realisation of fines.
