Western Railway has launched a 15-day ticket checking drive across Mumbai Central Division to curb ticketless and irregular travel during the Diwali festive rush, with dedicated squads deployed at stations and on trains until November 14.
The campaign, called Operation DEEP, began on October 31 and is intended to manage the anticipated increase in passenger traffic while supporting smoother travel for passengers holding valid tickets, according to a press release issued by Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek.
The name DEEP represents four operational measures: Detect, Examine, Enforce and Penalise. Railway teams will detect ticketless and irregular travellers, examine tickets and valid identity documents, enforce railway rules aimed at curbing overcrowding, and penalise offenders under the provisions of the Railways Act.
Western Railway has deployed dedicated ticket-checking squads at stations and aboard trains across the Mumbai Central Division. The railway zone has appealed to passengers to purchase valid tickets before travelling and has encouraged commuters to use digital ticketing facilities.
The special drive comes as Indian Railways services face increased demand during the festive period, when suburban trains, long-distance services, passenger trains and holiday specials carry larger volumes of travellers. Western Railway said the checks are also intended to prevent unauthorised travel, reduce revenue leakage and promote compliance with railway rules.
The railway zone reported detecting 15.49 lakh cases of ticketless and irregular travel, including unbooked luggage, between April and September 2026. These drives generated fines of Rs 116.52 crore, according to the official statement cited in the report.
In September alone, Western Railway detected more than two lakh cases and collected Rs 16.09 crore in fines. The figures cover checks conducted across Mumbai suburban local trains, long-distance Mail and Express services, passenger trains and holiday special trains.
The Mumbai suburban section accounted for 5.43 lakh cases of ticketless or irregular travel between April and September. Western Railway said these checks resulted in the collection of more than Rs 30 crore in fines during the period.
The enforcement has also been intensified on AC suburban local services. Between April and September, around 97,000 penalty cases were detected involving passengers travelling on AC suburban services without the appropriate ticket. The railway collected Rs 4.33 crore in fines from these cases.
According to Western Railway, the number of penalty cases on AC suburban services rose by more than 170 per cent compared with the corresponding period last year. Around 49,000 cases had been detected during that period, generating Rs 1.60 crore in fines.
The railway’s appeal comes with the festive campaign scheduled to continue through November 14. Passengers travelling during the period have been asked to carry valid tickets and identity documents where required, and to use authorised digital ticketing channels before boarding.
