Central Railway cracks down on ticketless travel; Rs 227 crore penalty recovered in FY 2025-26

Central Railway has intensified its drive against ticketless and unauthorised travel recovering more than Rs 227 crore in penalties from nearly 38 lakh offenders during the financial year 2025ndash26 April 2025 to February 2026 according to an official statement issued on WednesdayRailway officials said the crackdown is part of ongoing efforts to ensure a safe smooth and comfortable travel experience for passengers while discouraging violations across its networkNearly 38 lakh ticketless travellers caughtDuring the period from April 2025 to February 2026 Central Railwayrsquos ticket checking teams apprehended 3799 lakh passengers travelling without valid tickets or with improper travel authorityThis represents an increase of nearly 10 per cent compared to the 3460 lakh passengers caught during the corresponding period of the previous financial yearIn terms of penalties the railway recovered a record Rs 22703 crore compared to Rs 18562 crore during the same period last year marking a rise of more than 22 per centFebruary 2026 also records sharp rise in penaltiesCentral Railway said the enforcement drives also saw significant results in February 2026 when 365 lakh passengers were caught travelling without valid ticketsThe figure is higher than the 332 lakh offenders detected in February 2025 indicating an increase of nearly 10 per centDuring the month ticket checking teams collected Rs 2327 crore in penalties up from Rs 18 crore in February last year reflecting a rise of nearly 30 per centMumbai and Bhusaval divisions lead penalty collectionsDivisionwise data for April 2025 to February 2026 shows that the Mumbai division recorded the highest number of cases while Bhusaval division recorded the highest penalty collectionMumbai division recovered Rs 7132 crore from 1616 lakh cases Bhusaval division collected Rs 7529 crore from 894 lakh cases Pune division reported Rs 2714 crore in penalties from 431 lakh cases while Nagpur division recovered Rs 2493 crore from 4 lakh casesSolapur division recorded Rs 1053 crore in penalties from 230 lakh cases while the headquarters recorded Rs 1782 crore from 228 lakh casesMultipronged enforcement strategyCentral Railway said it adopts a multipronged strategy to detect unauthorised travel including station checks ambush checks fortress checks intensive drives and mega ticket checking operationsThese drives are conducted across Mail and Express trains passenger trains special trains and suburban services in the Mumbai and Pune divisionsPassengers urged to travel with valid ticketsThe railway administration has appealed to passengers to travel only with valid tickets purchased through authorised booking counters authorised vendors Automatic Ticket Vending Machines ATVMs or online through the IRCTC website and the RailOne mobile applicationCentral Railway also warned passengers against using fraudulent methods to generate or obtain fake tickets stating that such offences are punishable under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act 2023 with penalties including fines and imprisonment of up to seven years or bothThe railway reiterated its zerotolerance policy towards ticketless travel and urged passengers to travel safely responsibly and with dignity