Indian Railways Fines Reach Rs 1,781 Crore in FY25

Indian Railways has made headlines by collecting an impressive Rs 1,781 crore in fines for ticketless and irregular travel during the financial year 2025. This significant figure was disclosed by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a recent Lok Sabha session. According to the Railways Act of 1989, traveling without a valid ticket is considered an offense, subjecting passengers to pay the full fare for the distance traveled along with a minimum penalty of Rs 250.

For instance, a passenger traveling without a ticket from Patna to Buxar in Bihar would incur a penalty of Rs 350, which includes the fare of Rs 100 plus the mandated fine. The minister pointed out that unauthorized travel often results from a mismatch between the demand for seats and the available supply. To address this issue, the Railways has been operating special trains during peak seasons such as festivals and holidays.

In fact, the Railways has operated nearly 60,000 special train services in the year 2025-26 up to November, utilizing over 700 additional coaches to facilitate this increased demand. Furthermore, more than 200 new trains have been introduced, including 28 Vande Bharat Express trains and 26 Amrit Bharat Express trains, aimed at accommodating the growing number of passengers during special occasions.

In addition to these measures, the Railways has launched a project to establish special waiting areas at 76 stations across the country, similar to those at New Delhi Railway Station. This initiative aims to regulate passenger access to platforms and ensure systematic ticket checking to improve compliance and safety.

Moreover, zonal railways conduct periodic ticket checking campaigns to curb ticketless travel. To enhance efficiency and transparency, over 30,000 handheld terminals (HHTs) have been provided to ticket checking staff. These devices allow Ticket Examiners (TTEs) to perform a range of functions, such as downloading reservation charts, checking passenger tickets, and managing waitlists, thereby streamlining the entire ticket verification process.

According to the Indian Railways' annual report, in FY24, there were around 5.39 lakh checks against ticketless or irregular travel. This resulted in the detection of approximately 361.05 lakh cases, leading to a collection of Rs 2,232 crore in fines during that period. Comparatively, the collections in FY23 and FY22 stood at Rs 2,260 crore and Rs 1,575 crore, respectively, indicating a growing trend in penalties related to ticketless travel.