Indian Railways conducting drive to check touts, ticketless travel

NEW DELHI: The Railways have conducted a special drive to check the malpractices of touting, ticketless travel and misuse of facilities during which 307 touts and 59,115 unauthorised vendors were prosecuted, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said a special drive was launched by all zonal railways from April 1 to June 30 to conduct checks in mass contact areas.

The drive was aimed at curbing malpractices of touting activities, ticketless passengers and misuse of facilities of e-ticketing, among others.

"During the drive, 307 touts, 59,115 unauthorised vendors and seven illegal ticketing agencies have been prosecuted. An amount of Rs 1.18 crore was recovered during the special drive," he said during Question Hour.

Prabhu said some steps have been taken to make the public aware of streamlining of reservation system and making it more transparent.

He said the ministry was conducting joint as well as independent checks by commercial, vigilance and security departments to curb the activities of touts and malpractices by the railway staff in connivance with touts.

The minister said these checks were intensified during peak rush and festival periods. Touts and unauthorised vendors were apprehended and prosecuted under sections 143 and 144 of the Railways Act, 1989. Illegal users of online e-ticketing are prosecuted under provision of section 143 of Railways Act 1989.

"Simultaneous checks were conducted at reservation offices and on the trains to detect the cases of transferred reserved tickets i.e. persons found travelling fraudulently against accommodation actually reserved in the name of another passenger," he said.