To ensure that commuters do not travel without tickets, Central Railway (CR) has roped in Railway Police Force (RPF) to ask passengers to buy tickets before entering platforms.
CR has identified 18 stations to implement the plan which will be carried out in a phased manner in coming months. While both CR and Western Railway (WR) conduct fortress ticket checks monthly, they have been asked to increase revenue from every possible source by the Railway Ministry in Delhi. The Ministry has also suggested that menial projects be funded by such revenue generated within the zones themselves.
Officials said the experiment has already started from November 16. While RPF action is only a preventive measure, officials expect that commuters will take the warning seriously, coming as it does rom men in uniform. “The ticket collectors will still have prosecution powers but by bringing in the RPF, we expect that people will go back to the ticket counter and actually buy a ticket, if they haven’t,” said an official on condition of anonymity.
According to RPF officials, “The RPF will be stationed at the point of entry and ticket collectors at exit points of that particular station so the commuter will be forewarned.”
