Visakhapatnam: Though the East Coast Railway records the highest freight loading among the 16 zones, plugging the loopholes in revenue collection from passenger tickets has remained a matter of concern. As many as 17.48 lakh people were penalised for travelling without tickets in the East Coast Railway zone in five years from 2011, according to railway ministry and ECoR sources. About Rs 68 crore was collected by imposing penalty on ticketless travellers or travelling in reserved coaches with general tickets.
When the numbers speak of the intense ticket checking being carried out, it also suggests that a large number of people were escaping the dragnet. To a question in the Lok Sabha relating to revenue loss due to ticketless travel in different zones, the railway ministry said the losses incurred due to ticketless travel were not quantifiable. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that plugging passenger ticket revenue leakage could add up to 20 per cent to railway revenues.
Shortage of staff in the zone is said to have taken toll on the ticket checking in trains and also manning gates to prevent illegal travellers. The Vizag city railway station has points other than the designated gates which give erring passengers ample scope to evade checking. “Though manpower is not enough, all measures are being taken to plug revenue leakage. Ticket checking has been intensified over the years,” said ECoR pubic relations officer J.P. Mishra. Vigorous drives such as ambush checks and fortress checks are said to have been conducted in association with the Railway Protection Force and magistrates to catch ticketless passengers.
