Penalty charges applicable on offenders as per the latest Indian Railway fine rules

Every passenger who makes use of the rail network in India should possess a valid ticket with him or her. A passenger can travel only in that particular class of accommodation for which the ticket has been issued for. For example, a passenger who holds a ticket for sleeper class coach cannot travel in a first AC coach. Travelling in the incorrect class, holding tickets that are outdated, travelling without ticket etc. are all punishable offences as per the railway fine rules. These rules are continuously revised and the passengers should ensure that they do not flout the rules in order to avoid coughing up heavy penalty charges.

It is the moral responsibility of the passengers to ensure that they book valid tickets well in advance before utilising the services of Indian Railways. The railway fine rules keep getting updated frequently and passengers must keep themselves abreast of the latest penalty and fine rules. The penalty without ticket charges will differ as per the distance of the journey, class of accommodation and the intent of the passenger. 

As per the railway fine rules, if a passenger has intentionally travelled without a ticket or has used a ticket that is already expired, he will be punished as per the provisions mentioned in Section 137 of the Railways Act. Depending on the nature and intent of the passenger, he may be put in jail for a period of 6 months or levied a fine amounting to a maximum of 1000 INR. If the case is severe, the passenger will receive both the punishments. In addition to this, if he is found to be travelling in a higher class or a superfast train holding a ticket that is valid for a lower class of accommodation or a normal train, he will be asked to pay the supplementary charges as well as penalty. In all of the above instances, the minimum amount of penalty charges would be around 500 INR and not less than that.

Section 137 should be applied only when it is clearly proved that the intent of the passenger was to commit a fraud (escaping, hiding inside the toilet at the time of ticket examination etc.). If the ticket examiner is not able to prove concisely whether the passenger’s intent was to defraud the Railways or not, then the penalty without ticket charges as explained in Section 138 would be levied on him.