Amid the surge in ticketless travelling in Mumbai local trains and railway stations, the Western Railway’s Mumbai Division has set up a dedicated team – BATMAN squad, to tackle the situation. BATMAN stands for ‘Be Aware TTE Manning At Night’ and keeps a check on hundreds of ticketless passengers after 8 PM.
Reports suggest that ticketless passengers have been causing problems for those travelling in the AC locals at night – the main concern being overcrowding. Therefore, to halt this situation, the BATMAN Squad has begun patrolling, from the night of March 11. Since then, around 2,500 ticketless passengers have been fined, resulting in the revenue collection of ₹6.5 lakh for the Western Railway, according to reports.
Apart from the primary responsibility, the squad also monitors activities taking place at the railway stations and conducts safety checks in the women’s coach at night. The enhanced vigilance will give women passengers a sense of safety and improve security at the stations.
The Western Railway has also launched a campaign recently to motivate the passengers to buy digital tickets through Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) mobile app. The app enables users to generate or cancel unreserved train tickets, renew passes, book seasonal tickets, and purchase platform tickets. This initiative yielded positive results as the usage of the mobile application for bookings has increased.
