Patna: Sonepur division of the East Central Railway (ECR) has detected around 34,000 cases of ticketless travelling during an intensive ticket-checking drive conducted this month till August 25. The drive resulted in the recovery of nearly Rs 3 crore as fines from passengers travelling without valid tickets.According to Sonepur senior divisional commercial manager (senior DCM) Dheeraj Kumar, the mega ticket-checking campaign was carried out at different stations and trains under the division to curb ticketless travel and ensure a hassle-free journey for genuine passengers.Special teams comprising ticket checking staff and RPF personnel were deployed at important locations to conduct surprise inspections from dawn to dusk, he said adding 2,294 passengers were penalised on Tuesday alone during the mega drive carried out at Sonepur, Hajipur, Barauni, Begusarai, Mansi, Khagaria and Naugachia stations.Strict action was taken against passengers found travelling without tickets or with improper tickets. He said the recovered fine amount would contribute to improving railway services and maintaining discipline among passengers.In addition, he said around 3.22 lakh passengers were detected travelling without tickets in Sonepur division from April 1 to Aug 25 in the current fiscal, yielding revenue of Rs 24.57 crore. He added that the railway administration has intensified ticket-checking operations to prevent revenue loss and discourage unauthorised travel.Meanwhile ,railway authorities appealed to passengers to buy valid tickets before boarding trains and cooperate with ticket checking teams. Regular checking drives will continue across the Sonepur division to ensure compliance with railway rules, he said .
