Mumbai: The Central Railway's Mumbai Division has intensified its efforts to curb ticketless and irregular travel through a series of innovative checking drives. Deploying strategies like 'Fortress', 'Ambush', and other special operations, the division aims to protect revenue and has already recovered an average of Rs 1 lakh in fines daily.
Impressive Recovery Numbers
During April and May 2026, special checks conducted in addition to routine inspections resulted in the recovery of Rs 62.08 lakh over 61 days. A total of 14,744 cases were booked, translating to an average recovery of Rs 1 lakh per day from 241 cases.
Understanding the Special Drives
The division employs a multi-pronged approach to tackle ticketless travel:
- Fortress Check: This involves cordoning off stations and screening every passenger at entry and exit points. Teams comprising ticket-checking staff, Railway Protection Force (RPF), and Government Railway Police (GRP) are deployed.
- Special Fortress: A scaled-up version under senior officers, with 50-100 personnel conducting surprise deployments.
- Ambush Checks: Sudden onboard raids on running trains to catch short-distance offenders.
- Spot and Intensive Checks: Targeted inspections focusing on specific coaches, gates, stations, trains, or fraud patterns.
- Cross-Country Checks: Outside teams are brought in to reduce tip-offs and local influence.
Operational Scale
The Mumbai division operates 1,820 suburban services daily, including 108 AC locals, carrying an average of over 40 lakh commuters across corridors such as CSMT-Karjat/Khopoli/Kasara, CSMT-Panvel/Uran, CSMT-Mahim, and Thane-Vashi.
