Rail fine hike

Irangika Range

The fines imposed on ticketless train passengers have increased by 50 percent.

A Sri Lanka Railways spokesman said it has been reported that the percentage of passengers travelling without tickets in trains has been on the increase over the past few years.

“We recognize that ticketless travel is a problem and we have developed a revenue protection strategy to help reduce the number of passengers travelling without a ticket,” he said.

“It has been decided to conduct special checks in addition to routine checks that are being carried out during rush hours,” he said. “Collecting fines through ticket inspections would bring more revenue to the Department as well,” he said.

Accordingly, the fine levied from passengers travelling third class in trains without tickets has been increased from Rs 600 upto Rs 900 while the fine collected from passengers travelling second class without tickets was increased from Rs 800 to Rs 1,200.

The fine levied from passengers travelling in first class compartments without tickets has been increased from Rs 1,100 upto Rs,1,650.