In a remarkable achievement, Simranjeet Singh Walia, the Deputy Chief Ticket Inspector of Ambala Division of Northern Railway, has topped the list of ticket checkers across the Indian Railways in the last financial year. Walia has collected a staggering amount of ?2.25 crore from 36,667 passengers who were traveling without a ticket or carrying un-booked luggage during the year 2022-2023. He is followed by Dharmendra Kumar Travelling Ticket Inspector (TTI) of Central railway. Dharmendra Kumar collected fine of ?2.12 crore from 22996 ticketless travellers in the last financial year.
- This is a historic achievement for the Northern Railway as it marks the first time that an individual ticket checking staff has collected such a large amount of fines from ticketless travelers. Walia’s tally of 36,667 ticketless passengers works out to an average of 122 a day, assuming he worked around 300 days last year, after deduction of weekly off and other leaves.
For context, the average ticket checker fines eight ticketless passengers a day and collects about ?2,000, which works out to ?6.3 lakh annually. The gross salary of a ticket checker ranges from ?45,000 to ?80,000 per month, depending on seniority.
Sanjay Kumar Jain, Principal Chief Commercial Manager of Northern Railway, has commended Walia for his exemplary performance and dedication. He also congratulated the entire commercial wing for their continuous efforts in curbing ticketless and irregular travel. Jain emphasized that ticket checking is a critical mechanism that helps in reducing unauthorized travel in trains while building confidence among genuine rail passengers.
Jain appealed to all rail passengers to travel with valid railway tickets and Travel Authorities. This achievement by Walia is a testament to the efficacy of the Indian Railways’ ticket checking mechanism and its efforts to curb ticketless and irregular travel.
