The Salem Division of Southern Railway collected ₹7.11 crore as penalty during ticket checking drives conducted between April and June 2026, detecting 93,629 cases of ticketless travel, irregular travel and unbooked luggage.
A release from the division stated ticket checking squads carried out 15,274 inspections in trains and railway premises during the three-month period. A total of 45,991 passengers were found travelling without tickets and penalties amounting to ₹4.58 crore were collected. Compared to the corresponding period in 2025, the number of ticketless travel cases rose by 5.7% from 43,524, while penalty collection increased by 20.6% from ₹3.80 crore.
The squads also detected 37,443 cases of irregular travel and recovered ₹2.52 crore as penalty, registering a 5.9% increase over the ₹2.38 crore collected during the same period last year.
Further, 195 cases of unbooked or excess luggage were detected and penalties totalling ₹93,146 were imposed. The total penalty realised through the drives during the quarter stood at ₹7,10,85,149.
In June alone, the division detected 14,011 cases of ticketless travel and collected ₹1.31 crore as penalty. It also booked 12,728 cases of irregular travel, recovering ₹81.71 lakh, and detected 54 cases of unbooked or excess luggage, collecting ₹26,895. The total penalty collected during June amounted to ₹2.13 crore.
The railway administration appealed to passengers to travel only with valid tickets, board trains from the designated boarding station mentioned in their tickets, avoid misuse of concessions, and adhere to the prescribed luggage limits to avoid penalties.
Published - July 08, 2026 06:56 pm IST