In continuation with the ticket checking drive being undertaken by the Commercial Branch officials of Salem Division as per the directions of Hari Shankar Verma, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), yesterday on 14, February surprise checks were conducted on selected trains, all day long.
T.No.76850 Salem Vridhachalam Passenger, T.No.56513 Karaikal-Bengaluru Passenger, T.No.22815 Bilaspur-Ernakulam Express, T.No.12512-Trivandrum-Gorakpur Express, T.No.13352, Alleppey Dhanbad Express among other trains were covered in this surprise check.
About 331 cases of ticketless and improper ticketing, such as travelling beyond the ticket route, travelling in a different class, travelling without proper concession authority, etc and 16 cases of unbooked luggage, came to light. It has been reported that a fine of Rs. 1,40,730/- (Rs.1,34,795/- towards ticket fare and fine, Rs.5,935/- towards luggage fare) was collected from violators. About 20 ticket checking staff and 3 RPF staff were involved in the surprise checks, lead by K. Madhu, Divisional Commercial Manager, Salem.
As per Section 138 of the Indian Railways Act, 1989, ticketless/improper ticket holding passengers and carrying luggage beyond the permissible limits, are punishable with a penalty of up to two times the fare/charges and/or imprisonment up to 1 year, on production before the Railway Magistrate. Hence, the passengers are advised to travel in trains with proper ticket and avoid any penal action.