Central Railway has recovered a record Rs 140.8 crore from 18 lakh passengers travelling without valid tickets across its Maharashtra network between April and August, with penalty earnings rising 40% from the corresponding period last year, railway officials said.
The recovery amounts to an average of about 11,000 penalties and Rs 92 lakh collected each day during the five-month period. Officials attributed the increase to intensified ticket-checking operations and the revised minimum penalty for ticketless travel, which has risen from Rs 250 to Rs 500.
The Mumbai division accounted for the largest share of the recovery, collecting Rs 58.5 crore from 8.8 lakh cases. Bhusaval division followed with Rs 35.5 crore from 3.4 lakh cases. Pune and Nagpur divisions recovered Rs 16.3 crore and Rs 15.8 crore respectively, while Solapur division and Central Railway headquarters contributed Rs 6.1 crore and Rs 8.6 crore.
Central Railway also reported collecting Rs 19.5 crore in August alone, a 41% increase over August 2025. The number of cases detected during the month, however, fell slightly from 2.7 lakh in August 2025 to 2.5 lakh in August this year, according to the figures reported by the railway administration.
The checking campaign has included fortress checks, ambush inspections, station sweeps and large-scale drives across mail, express, passenger, special and suburban services. These operations have been conducted in the Mumbai and Pune divisions as part of Central Railway’s effort to curb fare evasion.
“This includes fortress checks, ambush inspections, station sweeps, and mega drives conducted across mail, express, passenger, special, and suburban trains in Mumbai and Pune divisions,” Central Railway chief spokesperson Swapnil Nila said.
The enforcement programme covers both train services and station access points, where railway personnel check passengers for valid tickets and authorised travel documents. The reported figures combine cases recorded across Central Railway’s divisions in Maharashtra rather than reflecting only suburban services in Mumbai.
Railway authorities said travelling without a valid ticket is an offence under the Railways Act. They also linked fare recovery to the railway system’s ability to fund passenger amenities, safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements. The latest figures indicate that higher penalties and more intensive inspections are contributing to increased collections, while the decline in detected cases in August remains part of the administration’s reported monthly comparison.
