India, July 8 -- Within a fortnight, the Western Railways' ticket checking squads are to be expanded to cover more AC local trains. From May 23, when the initiative was launched, till July 2 the squads have caught over 6,899 ticketless commuters and collected fines adding up to Rs.20.97 lakh. Every day, a team of 15 ticket checking squads catches more than 168 commuters travelling without valid tickets or season passes inside the air-conditioned (AC) local trains on the Western Railway (WR). This squad works an average of 7-9 hours per day, including the peak hours in the morning and evening.

A WR official said that the squad caught 564 ticketless commuters in the past week. The ticket checking staff boarded the train from Virar or Boriv...