Jodhpur: The Jodhpur railway station has seen a massive crackdown on passengers travelling illegally or violating railway rules in the month of January. The railway administration has collected a whopping Rs 81 lakh from more than 19,000 cases of ticketless or irregular travel, which is 24 percent higher than the set target of Rs 59 lakh.
This was revealed by Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Pankaj Kumar Singh, who said that the intensive ticket checking campaign will continue on the Jodhpur division to discourage such malpractices. He also praised the ticket checking staff for their efforts and vigilance.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (DCM) Vikas Kheda said that the campaign was carried out on all the railway sections of the Jodhpur division, including Jodhpur-Merta Road-Degana-Phulera, Merta Road-Nagaur-Bikaner, Degana-Ratangarh, Jodhpur-Luni-Pali Marwar-Marwar Junction, Luni-Samdari-Barmer, Samdari-Jalore-Bhildi and Jodhpur-Phalodi-Jaisalmer.
He said that out of the 19,650 cases, 13,546 passengers were caught travelling without tickets, from whom Rs 57 lakh 35 thousand 967 was collected, including fare and fine. Another 4,500 cases of irregular travel, such as travelling in a higher class than the ticket, were detected, from whom Rs 21 lakh 72 thousand 67 was recovered.
The campaign also nabbed 1,382 passengers who were found littering in trains and railway stations, and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh 53 thousand 500 as per railway rules. Moreover, 123 passengers were fined Rs 24 thousand for smoking in trains, and 57 passengers were charged Rs 16,455 for carrying excess luggage.
The Jodhpur railway station is one of the major junctions in the northwest region of the country, with a daily footfall of over 42,000 passengers and 63 major trains passing through. The station is also undergoing a major redevelopment project worth Rs 500 crore, which will give it a new look and modern facilities12. The project is expected to be completed in three years.
