Railways Hands Ticket Checking System Over to Railway Police

Desk Desk
KARACHI: In an unprecedented administrative shift, Pakistan Railways has officially handed over its nationwide train ticket checking system to the Railway Police, sparking immediate administrative and operational debate across the transport sector.
According to a formal notification issued by the department, railway law enforcement personnel will now assume the direct responsibility of verifying passenger tickets onboard trains, a duty traditionally managed by dedicated commercial staff.
The directive aims to streamline onboard security and plug revenue leakages, yet it has raised critical operational questions regarding the dual burden being placed on police officials who already face severe resource constraints and stretching security mandates.
Insiders and railway union representatives have expressed profound skepticism over the directive, pointing out a glaring logistical shortfall in the new arrangement.
Preliminary reports indicate that the deployed police personnel currently lack essential ticket-checking tools, handheld scanners, and requisite training manuals typically utilized by commercial travelling ticket examiners (TTEs).
While the administration insists the measure is designed to curb unauthorized travel and enhance passenger safety simultaneously, critics argue that assigning revenue collection and verification duties to a law enforcement cadre could compromise their primary mandate of maintaining train security and protecting valuable railway assets against theft and sabotage.
The broader implications of this decision point toward a deeper institutional overhaul within Pakistan’s vital public transport network, which has long struggled with systemic financial deficits and operational inefficiencies.
Entrusting policing units with commercial oversight reflects a desperate bid to enforce compliance and stamp out ticketless travel, which remains a chronic drain on national exchequer revenues.
However, transport economists and railway analysts caution that without comprehensive digital integration, structural reforms, and adequate staff capacity building, overlapping institutional responsibilities may inadvertently aggravate mismanagement rather than resolve it.
As the notification takes immediate effect, senior railway officials are expected to review the initial implementation phase and address the operational bottlenecks highlighted by field staff and police unions.
Stakeholders await further clarifications from the Ministry of Railways regarding the allocation of resources, jurisdictional boundaries between commercial and police staff, and the long-term feasibility of maintaining this unconventional dual-role framework across the country’s extensive rail corridors.