Ticket checking drive fetches Rlys Rs 13.83L

Vijayawada: The ticket checking staff of the Vijayawada railway division organised intense ticket checking drive across the length of the division on Saturday under the supervision of Raveen Kumar Reddy, principal chief commercial manager, with around 112 staff actively taking part.

As part of this drive, a mega fortress check was also conducted at Vijayawada Railway Station. During the intense ticket checking drive, Rs 13.83 lakh penalty was realised on a single day by registering 1983 cases.

A total of 65 trains were checked by forming teams in all the sections of Vijayawada division. Squad TTEs, station staff and newly recruited pro-commercial clerks/ticket collectors took part in this mega drive. The check was conducted in two slots of 12 hours each in the morning and afternoon by the staff.

As part of the drive, a mega fortress check was organised at Vijayawada railway station. In all 59 ticket checking staff and 10 RPF staff participated. During the Fortress Check, all the entry/ exit points were thoroughly manned and passengers were regulated through these gates only. The loose end entry/ exit points identified during the drive were cordoned to regulate the flow of passengers. The passengers were requested to form queue at the counter to purchase journey or platform tickets. Passengers were educated to refrain from trespassing and use Foot-Over-Bridges (FOBs) for safer transit. Also passengers carrying heavy luggage were directed to luggage office for booking, and passengers carrying bulky articles were advised to book it in the brake van of Express/ passenger trains.

At Vijayawada station alone, Rs 6.20 lakh was realised by booking 620 cases. During the drive three unauthorised vendors were also booked and penalised for a sum of Rs 15,000. During the drive, 996 cases of ticketless travel, 966 cases of irregular travel were registered, and penalty of Rs 8.7 lakh and Rs 5.05 lakh respectively was realised by the ticket checking staff.

Raveen Kumar Reddy stated that the objective of the ticket checking drive is to curb ticketless, irregular travel and un-booked luggage and to create a moral fear among habitual offenders. The drive was not only to plug leakage of revenue but also to ensure comfortable and safe journey of bonafide rail passengers.

He appealed to passengers to download the UTS on mobile app for hassle-free ticket bookings and help in promoting paperless and cashless transactions.