Over 150 railwaymen and 135 policemen have been caught travelling in first-class compartments without proper authorisation in a drive conducted by the Central Railway (CR) since April 1. Over 40 railwaymen have been suspended along with 30 Railway Protection Force (RPF) constables for ticketless travel, while the rest have managed to escape after just paying the fine.

Though most railway employees are issued a second-class pass to travel between their office and homes, many regularly travel first-class. A large number of complaints regarding this have been lying with the railways for a long time, forcing CR to launch this drive.

As part of the drive, the suburban section of CR was divided into 11 zones and 11-member teams led by a senior ticket inspector were deployed in each zone. During peak hours, the teams stand on the platforms in front of the first-class compartments while duringnon-peak hours they conduct the raid inside the compartments.

The policemen are dead giveaways. ``Their boots, their buckles jutting out of their shirts, and most often the way they stand on the footboard, all these make them very vulnerable to our trained eyes,'' said an official who preferred anonymity.

During the first week of April, stations like Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and Thane witnessed heated exchanges between the ticket checkers and stunned railway and police personnel who were caught without proper travel documents. ``Most of them could not believe that they would be caught, usually a salaam would have sufficed,'' he added.

Though Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Ashok Malhotra refused to comment on the drive, he confirmed that nearly 300 railway and police personnel had been caught during the drive. ``For the first time in my 15 years of service, I was asked for my ticket a few days ago,'' he added.

Though senior officials of the CR claim that the drive has beensuccessful mainly because of the efforts of the ticket checkers, they admit that the arrogance of railway and police personnel too played a part in the success. ``Most of them thought that their identity cards would save them from punishment, but this time these cards landed them in more trouble,'' an official remarked.

Nearly 40 railwaymen have been issued show-cause notices and placed under suspension. If the administration finds any employee guilty of misconduct, he will be censured or even lose an increment. ``Most probably they will be let off with a warning, but the message will spread soon,'' he added.

As for the policemen, the railways have written to Commissioner of Police Ronnie Mendonca seeking his assistance to make law-enforcers desist from breaking the law. Thirty constables of the RPF too have been suspended after they were caught travelling in first-class compartments.

The drive, which started on April 1, has already earned Central Railway nearly Rs 7.16 lakh in fines. ``Moreimportantly, my sale of season tickets have gone up by 11.3 per cent,'' said a senior official from the commercial department.

The earnings from first-class passes has also increased by 20 per cent, which means that more second-class passengers are turning upwardly mobile. ``Now at least I can stand comfortably from Dadar to CST, otherwise it was impossible to get into the compartment,'' said V N Sharma, who commutes from Jogeshwari to CST daily.