M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, July 1: A train ticket checking drive was launched today between Garhwa road junction and Daltonganj, which fall under the East-Central Railways of the Dhanbad division.
A total of 41 passengers travelling without a ticket on long-distance express trains and some of them by passenger trains as well were caught today by a team of railway ticket examiners led by deputy chief ticket inspector B M Pandey. A sum of Rs 16,400 was collected as a fine from them.
Three passengers were caught travelling without a ticket in the Down Delhi-Ranchi Garib Rath. Ticketless travellers were also caught in Jammu Tawi-Tata and Ahmadabad-Kolkata trains also besides the local passenger trains.
The modus operandi in the Garib Rath or any long-distance train is to allow the ticketless passenger to travel by such trains in hiding. The attendant of the coach hides such ticketless travellers in the bed roll cubicle.
Deputy chief ticket inspector B M Pandey said children up to 11 years can have a train journey on the half ticket but once they get to 12 years of age they are to pay the fare for a ticket for an adult. Children below 5 years can travel without any railway ticket.
“We find that lots of parents are ignorant about it that if their children are 12 and above they must book an adult ticket for their 12 years old children,” said Pandey.
Such children who are 12 and are found without a proper ticket are liable to be fined for travelling by train.
Pandey appealed to the passengers to travel honestly and not to cheat the railways.
Co-ticket examiners like B Ganjhu, Ravinder Dubey, Kumar Ajay, B Yadav Shashi Kumar etc were a part of the drive against the ticketless travellers on the long-distance trains.
