Railways will strengthen containment measures for ticketless passengers, including police officers, during peak holiday hours

He Ministry of Railways has decided to launch a special banknote control unit around the holiday seasons to keep a check on ticketless travelersincluding police officers Officials said they are among the main offenders. The ministry on September 20 wrote a letter to the director generals of 17 zones asking them to launch a special campaign against ticketless and unauthorized travelers “during the period from October 1 to 15 and from October 25 to November 10” and take appropriate measures in accordance with the provisions of the law. Railway Law from 1989.

Railway commercial officials, who are part of the ongoing regular drive in various railway divisions, say that along with common people, policemen will also be on their radar during the festive fever as they are among the main offenders.

“In our recent surprise check between Ghaziabad and Kanpur, we found hundreds of policemen travelling in air-conditioned coaches of various Express and Mail trains without tickets. When we fined them, they initially refused to pay and threatened us with dire consequences,” a railway official said.

He added: “We did not back down and made them pay. The response from the passengers was very encouraging as they were happy and surprised to see action being taken against the police personnel.”

Ticket control officials at the North Central Railway Zone said they want to target policemen and other unauthorized travelers because they create a nuisance for passengers with valid tickets.

Asked about the number of policemen caught travelling without a ticket in the recent past, a railway spokesperson from Prayagraj division said, “We do not maintain separate data for policemen, however, in the last three months i.e. June, July and August, 1,17,633 travellers were fined Rs 9,145,8171 in Prayagraj division alone under NCR zone for travelling without a ticket.” Train ticket examiners They also feel that the policemen are the biggest nuisance as they not only break the law by travelling without a ticket but even harass valid travellers by forcibly asking them to share their berths and intimidate railway employees when confronted to take action. “Dealing with the WT policemen is a real nightmare as they not only misbehave with us but often threaten to file false cases to harass us,” said Sanjay Singh, president of the WT. Indian Railways The International Currency Control Staff Organization (IRTCSO) stated.

Singh added, “Of late, several videos have gone viral on social media platforms where policemen are seen fighting with railway staff, TTEs and common passengers when they are asked to produce valid tickets. I request the respective police departments to take exemplary action against such police personnel as they are not only tarnishing the image of police among citizens but also causing inconvenience to the authorised passengers.”

Travelling without a ticket is one of the most common offences on the railways.

According to a reply under the RTI Act by Indian Railway to a petitioner, Chandra Shekhar Gaur, in the financial year 2023-24, Railway officials caught 361.045 lakh passengers travelling without tickets or with improper tickets and collected Rs 2231.74 cr as fines.

Keeping in mind the convenience of passengers during the peak festive season, the ministry has asked zones to “appoint senior officers to oversee these campaigns at division and zone levels.” “Comments on these campaigns may be sent to this office by November 18,” the ministry letter said.