Central Railway collected a record Rs 159.3 crore in penalties from 20.5 lakh ticketless passengers between April and September 2026, marking a 37% increase over the Rs 116.5 crore recovered during the same period last year, according to an official statement reported by the railway zone.
Ticket-checking teams penalised an average of 11,184 offenders and collected more than Rs 87 lakh every day during the six-month period. The enforcement drive covers Central Railway’s suburban and long-distance services across its divisions, with Mumbai accounting for the largest share of recoveries.
The Mumbai division recorded Rs 66.9 crore in penalties from 10.11 lakh cases. Bhusaval followed with Rs 38.90 crore, while Pune recorded Rs 18.68 crore and Nagpur Rs 17.93 crore. The headquarters reported Rs 9.63 crore in recoveries and Solapur accounted for Rs 7.27 crore.
The railway’s figures show that Mumbai contributed nearly half of the total cases recorded across the network during the period. The division’s recovery was also the largest among the zones and divisions listed by Central Railway, reflecting the scale of ticket-checking activity across Mumbai’s heavily used rail network.
Enforcement continued through September, when 2.4 lakh passengers were caught travelling without valid tickets. The month’s recoveries amounted to Rs 18.5 crore, according to the report. Central Railway has described the action as part of an intensified crackdown on unauthorised travel.
The minimum penalty for travelling without a valid ticket was revised from Rs 250 to Rs 500. Following the revision, Central Railway deployed multiple checking methods, including ambush checks and fortress checks. These operations are intended to identify passengers travelling without valid tickets at stations and on trains.
Central Railway chief spokesperson Swapnil Nila urged passengers to travel with valid tickets and comply with railway rules. The appeal comes as the railway zone continues to use penalty collection and expanded checking operations to deter unauthorised travel.
The recovery figures also underline the operational challenge of enforcing ticketing rules across a large metropolitan rail system. For passengers, the immediate consequence of being caught is a higher minimum penalty, while for the railway administration, the campaign has become a significant revenue-recovery and compliance exercise.
Central Railway’s reported next step is to continue multi-pronged ticket-checking operations across its divisions, with passengers advised to purchase valid tickets before travelling.
