Bengaluru Metro rail fines: From playing music to sitting on coach floors, you may have to pay Rs 2,500 for these violations in Namma Metro

Namma Metro commuters who play music or videos on speaker mode or watch content without earphones could now face a penalty of up to Rs 2,500 under revised rules that came into effect on June 19.

The higher penalties were introduced following amendments to the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002, through the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has now implemented the revised provisions to curb passenger nuisance inside Metro coaches. Earlier this week, Chennai Metro also began enforcing the amended rules.

What can attract a Rs 2,500 fine?

Under the amended rules, commuters can be fined up to Rs 2,500 for acts that inconvenience fellow passengers. These include:

• Playing music or videos on speaker mode
• Watching videos without earphones
• Shouting inside Metro coaches
• Using abusive or obscene language
• Travelling in an intoxicated state
• Spitting inside Metro premises
• Sitting on the floor of Metro coaches
• Vandalising Metro property
• Engaging in indecent behaviour

Why were the penalties increased?

BMRCL said complaints about passengers using mobile phones on speaker mode have risen significantly in recent years.

During 2025-26, Metro security personnel cautioned nearly 57,000 passengers for playing audio or videos aloud inside coaches. Although the earlier law allowed authorities to impose a Rs 500 fine, officials said most offenders were only warned.

The corporation also detected more than 1,900 passengers consuming food inside Metro trains during the same period despite repeated announcements prohibiting the practice.

Other revised penalties under the new Metro rules

The amended law has also increased penalties for several other offences.

Displaying posters, banners or placards, or staging demonstrations on Metro premises, can now attract a penalty of up to Rs 10,000, replacing the earlier punishment of imprisonment for up to six months, a fine of up to Rs 1,000, or both.

Unauthorised entry into restricted areas, trespassing on Metro tracks, or unlawfully remaining on Metro premises can now invite fines of up to Rs 5,000. According to BMRCL, track trespassing may also attract additional penalties under other legal provisions, taking the total liability to more than Rs 20,000 in certain cases.

BMRCL Chief Public Relations Officer BL Yeshwanth Chavan told The Times of India that the revised law prescribes substantially higher penalties for a wide range of offences. He said unauthorised entry into Metro premises can attract fines of up to Rs 10,000, while trespassing on tracks, disrupting train operations, defacing public notices and using counterfeit Metro tickets can lead to penalties of up to Rs 25,000.

BMTC buses still cannot impose fines

Unlike Namma Metro, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) does not have legal provisions to fine passengers for playing loud music or videos on speaker mode.

Although BMTC has instructed conductors to warn passengers creating a disturbance and ask them to get off the bus if they refuse to comply, the transport corporation cannot levy monetary penalties under the existing rules. Officials say such violations continue despite similar instructions being in force since 2019.