Bhubaneswar: East Coast Railway’s (ECoR) intensified “Fortress Ticket Checking Drives” at major stations have led to increased ticket purchases and substantial penalty collections, with Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur reporting notable growth in unreserved ticketing system (UTS) bookings.Unlike routine inspections, the fortress checking strategy involves deploying large teams of ticket examiners with Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to cover all entry, exit and foot-overbridge points at targeted stations. The arrangement enables officials to check every passenger and detect ticketless travel, irregular journeys and unbooked luggage.“Every commuter is systematically checked, allowing authorities to penalise irregular travellers, ticketless passengers and those carrying unbooked commercial luggage within a few hours. These drives act as a deterrent and help recover revenue through spot fines,” an ECoR official said.The initiative has been implemented at prominent stations under ECoR’s jurisdiction to curb ticketing violations, encourage valid ticket purchases and safeguard railway revenue. The drives are conducted through coordinated enforcement by commercial staff, headquarters officials and the principal chief commercial manager’s squad.At Bhubaneswar railway station, a special drive on Oct 23 detected 138 violations and collected Rs 94,340 in penalties. The operation, carried out by a 14-member railway team, coincided with a sharp increase in UTS bookings. Passenger bookings through ticket counters rose from 15,621 on the corresponding day last year to 26,802 this year, marking a 71.58% increase. Ticket earnings also rose by 17.07% to Rs 23.22 lakh.At Sambalpur railway station, a similar drive detected 79 cases and collected Rs 51,385. UTS ticket sales increased from 3,995 to 4,590, registering 14.89% growth, while revenue from ticket sales rose by 3.62% to Rs 4.8 lakh.Official sources said the initiative is intended not only to collect penalties but also to encourage passengers to travel with valid tickets and comply with railway rules. They added that regular verification helps reduce unauthorised travel, ensures fairness for genuine passengers and protects legitimate railway earnings.