Mumbai: The Batman Squad, a dedicated team formed by Western Railway’s Mumbai division, has started conducting random ticket checks inside local trains and at stations during the night.
The initiative was taken after it came to the knowledge of the railway officials that hundreds of ticketless passengers had been travelling in the local trains after 8pm.
According to a report, the Batman Squad — Be Aware TTE Manning At Night — initiated ticket checks inside local trains and at stations during the night since March 11 and has so far fined at least 2,500 ticketless passengers. This resulted in a revenue gain of approximately Rs 6.50 lakh for the railway.
Roles and responsibilities of Batman Squad
Besides conducting ticket checks at night, the Batman Squad is also responsible for monitoring activities taking place at the railway stations in Mumbai during the night. The deployment of Batman Squad also ensures additional security for women passengers. It is worth mentioning here that the Batman Squad has been granted the power to conduct ticket checks even in the women’s coach after 8pm.
What prompted Western Railway to deploy the Batman Squad
The ticketless and general ticket passengers have been boarding in AC locals after 8pm when the TTEs are majorly off-duty, causing trouble to the passengers who pay extra money for comfortable travelling. Social media handles have also been flooded with complaints, prompting the Western Railway to take action to address the issue.
Approximately 26.57 lakh people travel in local trains daily
According to data by Central Railway (CR), approximately 26.57 lakh people travelled via local trains last year. In 2020, 41.47 lakh people travelled daily in the local trains. Between April 2022 and March 2023, the Western Railway filed thousands of ticketless travellers and collected a whopping amount of Rs 170.35 crore as a fine.
