Ticket check
Railway penalty calculator
What a passenger without a proper ticket is liable to pay on an Indian train, worked out from the Railways Act itself: the fare, and the excess charge the Act adds to it.
Approximate amount payable
Say what happened and type the fare for the journey. The Railways Act adds an excess charge equal to that fare, or a fixed minimum if the fare is smaller.
approx. ₹395 payable — example: a short journey whose single fare is ₹145, one passenger
- Ordinary single fare: ₹145
- Excess charge: ₹250 — the fixed minimum, because it is more than the fare
- ₹145 + ₹250 = ₹395 a passenger = ₹395
This is a charge, not a conviction: pay it on demand and the matter ends there. Refuse, and section 138 lets the railway recover it through a Magistrate as if it were a fine, with at least ten days and up to one month in default.
Other penalties in the same Act
| Section | For | The Act allows |
|---|---|---|
| 137 | Travelling without a ticket with intent to defraud, or reusing a used ticket | Up to six months, or a fine up to ₹1,000, or both — not less than ₹500 without special reasons — plus the fare and the excess charge |
| 141 | Pulling the alarm chain without reasonable and sufficient cause | Up to one year, or a fine up to ₹1,000, or both — not less than ₹500 for a first conviction, and three months for a second |
| 156 | Travelling on the roof, step, footboard or engine after being warned | Up to three months, or a fine up to ₹500, or both, and removal from the railway |
These are limits a court works within, not amounts anyone is automatically charged. They are here so the excess charge above is not mistaken for them.
Source: the Railways Act, 1989 — section 138 for the fare and the excess charge of the same amount or ₹250, whichever is more; section 55 for the certificate; sections 137, 141 and 156 for the table — read in Indian Kanoon’s copy of the Act. Last checked . The fare is the journey’s own and is not held here. India Code is the authority for the text of the Act, and the receipt the railway issues is the authority for what you were charged.
Ask TrainBot about your journeySeats, fares, PNR and live status — answered on this site, in any language.
TrainBot India is an independent service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by Indian Railways, IRCTC, or any rail operator or ticketing organisation, and this page is not legal advice. The figure above is an estimate from the published text of the Act; the amount the railway demands, and the receipt it issues, are what count.
Train ticket fine: how the railway penalty is worked out
The word on the platform is “fine”, but the Railways Act calls it something more exact, and the difference explains the amount. A passenger who cannot show a proper ticket is liable, on demand, for two sums: the ordinary single fare for the journey, and an excess charge. The excess charge is not a number somebody chooses — section 138 fixes it as a sum equal to the fare, or a fixed minimum, whichever is more. So on a long journey the bill is the fare twice over; on a short one, where the fare is smaller than the minimum, it is the fare plus the minimum. It is charged passenger by passenger, and the rule is the same in every class: the class only changes the fare that goes in.
Which fare is charged: where the journey is counted from
The fare is for the distance you have travelled. The sting is in what the Act says next. Where there is any doubt about the station you started from, the fare may be counted from the station the train originally started at; and if tickets have been examined since the train set off, from the place they were last examined. A passenger who boarded at a wayside station with nothing to show for it can therefore be charged from the origin of the train. Anything that fixes where you got on — a platform ticket, a ticket to an earlier station, a booking message — is worth having in hand for exactly this reason.
Travelling in a higher class, or beyond your station
Holding a ticket, but not for the journey you are making, is treated more gently. If you are in a higher class than your ticket allows, or have been carried past the station printed on it, the fare demanded is only the difference between what you paid and what the journey you actually made costs. The excess charge is then worked out on that difference — the difference again, or the same fixed minimum if that is more. Choose the second option in the calculator and type the difference, not the whole fare.
When no penalty is charged: the guard’s certificate
There is one lawful way to board without a ticket, and it is written into the Act. Section 55 lets an authorised railway servant permit you to travel on condition that you pay the fare afterwards, and says you shall ordinarily get a certificate that the permission was given. Section 138 then says, in so many words, that a passenger holding that certificate pays no excess charge — only the fare. The practical lesson is about timing: finding the guard or the ticket checker and asking beforethe check finds you turns a doubled fare into a single one. Set the calculator to “I boarded with permission” to see the difference.
Penalty, fine and prosecution are three different things
The excess charge under section 138 is a charge: pay it on demand, take the receipt, and nothing further follows. It turns into a fine only if you refuse — the railway applies to a Magistrate, who orders the sum recovered as if it were a fine, and in default the Act provides imprisonment of at least ten days and up to a month. Prosecution is section 137, and it needs more than an empty pocket: travelling without a ticket with intent to defraud, or reusing a ticket already used, is an offence carrying imprisonment or a fine of its own, with the fare and the excess charge on top. The calculator prices the first of the three, because it is the one that is a calculation.
Alarm chain pulling and other railway fines
Other sections of the same Act set penalties that are not worked out from a fare at all, and the calculator lists three of them beside the result so they are not confused with the excess charge: using the alarm chain without reasonable and sufficient cause, travelling on the roof, step or footboard after being warned, and fraudulent travel. Those figures are ceilings and floors that a court works within — what any one person is fined is the Magistrate’s decision, not arithmetic, which is why this page does not pretend to compute them. The text of every section is on India Code, the government’s own repository of Acts.
Questions people ask
What is the penalty for travelling without a ticket in a train?
Under section 138 of the Railways Act you pay the ordinary single fare for the journey, plus an excess charge equal to that fare again — or a fixed minimum set in the Act, whichever is more. So a long journey costs double the fare, and a short one costs the fare plus the minimum. Type the fare into the calculator above for the amount.
How much is the train ticket fine?
There is no single figure, because the Act does not set one: the train ticket fine is the fare for your journey plus an excess charge, and the excess charge is that fare again or a fixed minimum, whichever is more. So it scales with the distance and the class. The calculator above gives the amount once you type the fare, and it is the same rule in sleeper, in air-conditioned classes and in general.
From which station is the fare charged if I have no ticket?
For the distance you actually travelled. But the Act says that where there is any doubt about the station you started from, the fare is counted from the station the train originally started at — or, if tickets have been examined since then, from the place they were last examined. That is why the demand is often for more than your real journey.
What if I have a ticket for a lower class, or travelled past my station?
Then only the difference of fare is charged — the fare for the journey you actually made, less what you already paid — and the excess charge is worked out on that difference, with the same fixed minimum. Pick the second option in the calculator.
Is there any way to board without a ticket and not be penalised?
Yes, one. Section 55 lets an authorised railway servant permit you to travel on condition that you pay the fare afterwards, and give you a certificate saying so. With that certificate no excess charge is payable — only the fare. Asking the guard or the ticket checker before or as you board, rather than being found later, is the whole difference.
What happens if I refuse to pay the penalty?
The railway can apply to a Magistrate, who orders the sum recovered as if it were a fine. If it is still not paid, the Act provides imprisonment of at least ten days and up to one month. Paying on demand and taking the receipt ends the matter there.
Is travelling without a ticket a criminal offence?
Not by itself — section 138 is a charge, payable on demand. It becomes an offence under section 137 when it is done with intent to defraud the railway, or by reusing a ticket that has already been used, and that carries imprisonment or a fine on top of the fare and the excess charge.
Bina ticket train mein pakde jaane par kitna fine lagta hai?
Railways Act ki dhara 138 ke hisaab se aapko yatra ka poora kiraya dena hota hai, aur us par utna hi excess charge — ya Act mein tay nyuntam rakam, jo zyada ho. Yani lambi yatra par kiraye ka dugna, aur chhoti yatra par kiraya aur nyuntam rakam. Agar guard se anumati lekar certificate liya hai to sirf kiraya lagta hai. Upar calculator mein kiraya daalein.
Cancelling instead of travelling? The train ticket cancellation charges calculator shows what comes back, and the railway distance calculator estimates how far two stations are apart by rail.
Last updated 16 September 2026.