Mumbai News: Ticketless Travellers In Crosshairs Of WR's Fortress Check

Mumbai: If you are a frequent Western Railway (WR) commuter then double-check your ticket or pass before boarding the train. The caution will help you to easily pass through the fortress check drive, which has been planned at one of the bussiest station on Tuesday.

To keep the surprise element intact, the WR has announced that it will swoop upon ticketless travellers at one of the busiest suburban stations, but hasn't named it. The jumbo drive is part of the WR's broader plan to target stations and trains based on passenger complaints received in the last six months. In terms of daily footfalls, the top five suburban stations are Churchgate, Virar, Bhayandar, Borivali and Andheri; which fall under the purview of the Mumbai division. It has been confirmed that the fortress check will be executed at one of these stations.

'Mera Ticket, Mera Imaan'

“The WR's Mumbai Central Division launched the fortress ticket checking drive titled 'Mera Ticket, Mera Imaan' from September 30 to combat ticketless travel. One of the busiest stations of the suburban section will be targeted on Tuesday,” said an official. Elaborating further, he said that more than 200 ticket checkers accompanied by a substantial number of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel will be stationed at entry and exit gates and foot over bridges to ensure comprehensive coverage of passengers. Senior officials from the commercial department will supervise this operation at the selected station.

On Saturday, the WR conducted a fortress check at Dadar station and caught 1,647 ticketless travellers. They coughed up a total of Rs4,21,960 in penalties. Interestingly, the entire operation lasted for just eight hours, but yielded record results. A 195-member strong staff of ticket checkers kept a hawk's eye on each and every traveller, prompting many to post warnings on social media and apps related to railway information. To put things in perspective, the WR officials described the mega drive as one of the biggest fortress checks in the annals of Indian Railways. On Monday, ticket checking drives were conducted at Borivali, Bandra and Dadar stations

What is a fortress ticket checking drive?

A fortress ticket checking drive is a meticulous operation in which a specific station is selected and a posse of ticket checkers and security staff are deployed over a period of eight to 12 hours to scrutinise every passenger, leaving no room for ticketless travel.