East Coast Railway’s intensified ticket-checking drives at Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur stations have increased unreserved ticket bookings while generating penalties from passengers found travelling without valid tickets or carrying unbooked commercial luggage, according to railway officials.
The enforcement programme, described by ECoR as a “Fortress Ticket Checking Drive”, uses large teams of ticket examiners and Railway Protection Force personnel to cover station entry points, exits and foot-overbridges. The arrangement is designed to check passengers across the main movement points within a station rather than rely only on routine inspections.
At Bhubaneswar railway station, a special drive on October 23 detected 138 violations and collected Rs 94,340 in penalties. The operation involved a 14-member railway team. Passenger bookings through ticket counters increased to 26,802 from 15,621 on the corresponding day last year, a rise of 71.58%, while ticket earnings rose 17.07% to Rs 23.22 lakh.
At Sambalpur station, the drive detected 79 cases and collected Rs 51,385. UTS ticket sales increased to 4,590 from 3,995 on the corresponding day last year, representing growth of 14.89%. Revenue from ticket sales rose 3.62% to Rs 4.8 lakh.
An ECoR official said the coordinated checks allow railway personnel to identify ticketless travel, irregular journeys and unbooked luggage within a few hours. The official said the drives are intended to act as a deterrent, recover railway revenue through spot fines and encourage passengers to purchase valid tickets before travelling.
The enforcement teams include commercial staff, headquarters officials and personnel from the principal chief commercial manager’s squad, along with RPF support. ECoR said the drives have been carried out at prominent stations under its jurisdiction as part of efforts to reduce ticketing violations and protect legitimate railway earnings.
The increase in counter bookings was reported alongside the enforcement activity, although the supplied railway figures do not establish how much of the rise was directly caused by the checks. Railway officials said regular verification is also intended to ensure fairness for passengers who buy valid tickets and to improve compliance with railway rules.
ECoR’s stated focus is on continuing coordinated ticket verification at major stations, with enforcement teams checking passengers, journeys and luggage under the railway’s existing ticketing rules.
