Western Railway’s Mumbai Central Division has launched a 15-day ticket-checking campaign named Operation DEEP to curb ticketless and irregular travel during the Diwali festive rush. The drive began on October 31 and will continue until November 14 across stations and trains in the division.
The campaign is intended to manage the expected increase in passenger traffic and support a smoother journey for passengers travelling with valid tickets, according to a press release issued by Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek. Dedicated ticket-checking squads have been deployed at railway stations and on board trains.
DEEP stands for Detect, Examine, Enforce and Penalise. The campaign’s operating measures include identifying ticketless and irregular travellers, checking tickets and valid identity documents, enforcing railway rules to control overcrowding, and penalising offenders under the provisions of the Railways Act.
Western Railway has appealed to commuters to purchase valid tickets before travelling and encouraged passengers to use digital ticketing facilities. The railway administration said the checks would cover travel discipline during the festive period, when increased passenger movement can place additional pressure on suburban and long-distance services.
The campaign follows a wider ticket-checking effort by Western Railway between April and September 2026. During that period, the railway zone detected 15.49 lakh cases involving ticketless or irregular travel, including unbooked luggage, and collected Rs 116.52 crore in fines, according to an official statement cited by Mid-Day.
The intensive checks covered Mumbai suburban local trains, long-distance Mail and Express trains, passenger trains and holiday special services. Western Railway said the exercise was aimed at curbing unauthorised travel, preventing revenue leakage and promoting compliance with railway rules.
In September alone, more than two lakh cases of ticketless and irregular travel were detected, with fines totalling Rs 16.09 crore. Within the Mumbai suburban section, checking drives between April and September detected 5.43 lakh such cases and resulted in the collection of more than Rs 30 crore in fines.
The railway zone has also increased checks on AC suburban local services. Between April and September, around 97,000 penalty cases were recorded on AC suburban trains involving passengers travelling without the appropriate ticket. These cases generated Rs 4.33 crore in fines, representing an increase of more than 170 per cent over the corresponding period last year, when around 49,000 cases and Rs 1.60 crore in fines were recorded.
The Operation DEEP drive will remain in force until November 14. Western Railway has asked passengers to travel with valid tickets and use its digital ticketing options to avoid penalties during the festive rush.
