The Indian Railways sector is expanding rapidly, with both Vande Bharat Railways in the passenger service sector and freight train services connecting major destinations across the country. Rail transport is becoming more and more crucial for the people and industry of India. Nonetheless, the central government is taking several steps to improve the railway sector, which has been operating for the past century without significant changes. This includes measures to raise revenue, such as increasing ticket prices and levying fines on individuals who travel without purchasing tickets.
Recent statistics show that in the financial year 2022-23, Indian Railways authorities caught approximately 3.6 crore individuals traveling without tickets or with incorrect tickets. This represents a significant increase from 2.7 crore people the previous year and 1.10 crore people in 2019-20. The figure for the financial year 2020-21 was affected by the pandemic, with 32.56 lakh people found to be traveling without tickets.
Despite the large number of violations, fines collected from passengers amounted to just Rs 152 crore in 2020-21. However, this figure increased to Rs 2260.05 crore in both the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23. The central government provided this information in response to an RTI query from Chandra Shekhar Kaur of Madhya Pradesh. The Central Railway Department was able to collect this revenue from 3.6 crore individuals who traveled without tickets between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.
To further tackle the issue of ticketless travel, the Central Railway Department is planning to impose a minimum fine of Rs 250 in addition to ticket charges for individuals caught without tickets. Failure to pay this fine will result in handing over the individual to Railway Police officials. If convicted, they may face a fine of up to 1000 rupees or imprisonment for six months.
The Indian Railways sector is growing tremendously, with Vande Bharat Railways in the passenger service sector and freight train services connecting the major destinations of the country, rail transport is becoming very important to the people and industry of India.
At the same time, the central government is making many efforts to improve the railway sector, which has been operating for 100 years without major changes. In particular, it is taking several steps to increase revenue. These range from raising ticket prices to levying fines on those who don’t buy tickets.
In this situation, the Indian Railways authorities have caught about 3.6 crore people traveling without tickets and with wrong tickets in the year 2022-23. In the financial year 2021-22 the number was 2.7 crore and in 2019-20 it was 1.10 crore. 32.56 lakh in the financial year 2020-21 affected by Corona.
The amount collected as fine from passengers traveling without tickets and with wrong tickets was just Rs 152 crore in 2020-21. This has increased to Rs 2260.05 crore in the financial year 2021-22 and to Rs 2260.05 crore in the financial year 2022-23, the central government has released the information in response to a question asked by Chandra Shekhar Kaur from Madhya Pradesh through RTI.
Through this, the Central Railway Department has collected Rs 2,260.05 crore from 3.6 crore passengers who traveled without tickets during the period from April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023. At 3.6 crore people, this number is equal to the total population of many countries in the world.
The Central Railway Department is planning to impose a minimum fine of Rs 250 along with ticket charges on the person traveling without a ticket. Those who do not pay this will be handed over to Railway Police officials. If the railway police hand them over to the court, they will be fined up to 1000 rupees or jailed for 6 months.