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Indian Railways is the lifeline of the country, through which crores of passengers reach their destination every day. During festivals, weddings, holidays or any sudden medical emergency, it often becomes impossible to get a confirmed seat in trains. In such a situation, many times passengers board any coach in a hurry without thinking or board the train only by taking the platform ticket. If you are also thinking of doing this in an emergency, then wait! Railways has clear and strict rules for such situations.
If you do not have correct knowledge of the rules, you may not only have to pay a heavy fine, but may also have to face legal action and even jail under the Railways Act. At the same time, if you follow the official protocol of Railways, then in case of emergency, you can complete your journey in a legal and valid manner even without a pre-reserved ticket. Let us know what is the right way to travel if you do not have a ticket or have only a platform ticket.
According to the rules of Indian Railways, if a passenger has to travel suddenly and does not get time to get the ticket from the reservation or general ticket counter, then he can enter the train by taking a platform ticket. Platform ticket is the official proof of which station and at what time the passenger has boarded the train.
The complete process to legalize travel through platform ticket is as follows:
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Mandatory to purchase platform ticket: Before boarding the train, you must buy a platform ticket from the UTS counter or Automatic Ticket Vending Machine (ATVM) of the railway station.
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Contact TTE immediately: As soon as the passenger boards the train, without hiding, he will first have to find the ticket checking staff present in the train i.e. TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) and personally tell him that he has boarded the platform ticket in case of emergency.
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Making Access Fare Ticket (EFT): After looking at your platform ticket, TTE will add the fare from that station to your destination station and will issue you ‘Access Fare Ticket’ (EFT) after imposing a penalty of ₹ 250 as per rules. After this your journey will become completely legal.
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Seat Availability: Keep in mind that EFT made from a platform ticket only allows you to travel and does not guarantee a reserved seat. If there is any berth vacant in the train, TTE may allot you a seat as per rules; Otherwise, you will have to travel only at the available place after getting permission to travel.
Many passengers board the train by taking platform ticket or general ticket, but keep hiding from TTE due to fear of being caught. Doing this directly comes under the scope of ‘Ticketless Travel’.
If you do not go ahead and inform the TTE and are caught during checking, the Railways may treat you without a ticket from the originating station of that train. This means that if the train is going from Delhi to Dibrugarh and you board at Kanpur, then TTE has the right to charge you the full fare from Delhi to Dibrugarh and heavy fine. Therefore, it is wisest to personally contact the TTE within the first 10 to 15 minutes of boarding the train.
It is often seen that passengers buy general (unreserved) tickets and sit in sleeper or AC coach to avoid the crowd. According to railway rules this is completely illegal.
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Fare difference and penalty: If you have a Second Class (General) ticket and you are caught in a sleeper or AC coach, you will have to pay the difference of fare of the General ticket and the respective coach. Along with this, a minimum fine of ₹ 250 will also have to be paid.
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Right to alight at the next station: Even after paying the fine, if there is no seat vacant in the concerned reserved coach, the TTE will immediately direct you to move to the general coach. If the instructions are not followed, the passenger can be dropped at the next station with the help of Railway Protection Force (RPF).
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General Ticket Deadline: Keep in mind that the validity of unreserved general tickets is also limited. It is mandatory to board a train within 3 hours of purchasing a general ticket issued for distances up to 199 km.
Traveling without a valid ticket is considered a punishable offense under Section 137 and Section 138 of the Indian Railways Act, 1989.
Strict legal provisions of Railways:
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Section 138 (Travelling without proper ticket): If a passenger is found traveling without a ticket or with an invalid ticket, he is charged normal fare plus additional penalty.
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Section 137 (Travelling without ticket with intent to defraud): If it is proved that the passenger was traveling knowingly with the intention of causing loss of revenue to the Railways or traveling without paying the fare, he can be punished with a fine up to ₹1,000 or imprisonment up to 6 months, or both.
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Situation of non-payment of fine: If a passenger refuses to pay the fine amount on the spot, the TTE hands him over to the GRP or RPF, after which he is produced before the Railway Magistrate.
To avoid boarding a train without a ticket or in a risky situation, the Railways provides a number of facilities which can be used in an emergency:
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Current Ticket Booking: The seats which remain vacant after the first chart is made from the departure station of the train (4 hours before departure) are opened under ‘Current Booking’. Passengers can book confirmed tickets at discounted or normal rates up to 30 minutes before train departure through the IRCTC app or reservation counter at the station.
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Tatkal and Premium Tatkal Quota: Tickets can be booked under Tatkal quota at 10 am (AC Class) and 11 am (Non-AC/Sleeper), one day before the journey.
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UTS Mobile App (UTS on Mobile): To avoid long queues for general tickets, use Railways’ UTS App to buy unreserved tickets or platform tickets instantly within 5 to 20 meters of the station premises.
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IRCTC Chart Vacancy Features: Before leaving the train, one can check whether the berth is vacant in which coach between which station by visiting the IRCTC website and entering the train number in the ‘Charts / Vacancy’ option, so that the TTE can be directly talked to for that berth.
To make train travel always safe, pleasant and stress-free, do not ignore the rules. If you ever have to board a train without a reserved ticket, immediately contact the railway staff and get a valid receipt and travel responsibly.