The vigilance department of Northern Railways checked on the activities of touts and unauthorised travel agents which included checks to detect passengers travelling on transferred tickets purchased from unauthorised sources or agencies during the recent summer rush period.
Stepping up its vigilance regimen, the railways organized a special drive and carried out intensive checks at all major locations over the railways. A total of 95 ticket checking staff were involved in this drive covered 35 stations and 87 trains.Through the multi-pronged strategy of preventive and decoy checks, the vigilance department was able to apprehend 191 touts (including 74 unauthorised vendors) and seven unauthorized travel agents who were apprehended in the station premises and detected 75 TOT (Transfer of Tickets) cases realising an amount of Rs 76,065 from them. Marking a total of 1105 preventive checks in mass contact areas, that is, at PRS centres, booking offices, platforms trains and catering units. The team notched several significant achievements to nab collusion of staff besides uncovering anomalies in loading of parcel vans. In addition to intensive drives against touts, UTA and in mass contact areas, Northern Railways vigilance team undertook extensive public awareness drives through advertisements in print and news items in electronic media.The ads appeal to general public to refrain from purchase of rail tickets from unauthorised agencies and touts. The ads also inform the public that unauthorised buying and selling of reserved tickets is an offence under Section 143 of the Railways Act. Passengers who buy tickets from unauthorised travel agents may lose their tickets.