Mumbai Suburban Railway - Ticketing

Ticketing

Tickets for the suburban trains can be purchased at every train station. Travelling without a valid ticket is an offence and if caught can result into penalty. The penalty is steeper for passengers travelling in first class without a valid ticket.

Tickets can be bought for single journey (one way) or a return journey. A return ticket is valid till the next day on weekdays and till Monday if purchased on a Friday. The ticket counters usually have long queues.

Tourists can avail the option of 'Tourist ticket'. Under the tourist ticket scheme, passengers can travel unlimited times during its validity between any stations on all lines Mumbai Suburban Railway. Tickets are available for first and second class. Effective 1 August 2012, the fares for first class tickets are 210 (US$3.82) (1 day), 365 (US$6.64) (3 days) and 430 (US$7.83) (5 days). These tickets are issued maximum 3 days in advance, excluding the first day of validity. No refund is admissible on unused/partially used tourist tickets. But tourist tickets booked in advance can be cancelled before the day of validity on which charges of Rs 10 for second class and Rs 20 for first class per passenger will be deducted.

CVMs and ATVMs

To save time, a Coupon Booklet can be purchased and the coupons can be punched for the designated fare at the Coupon Validating Machines(CVMs) at every station. The ticket fares matrix is pasted above the CVM. As of October 2012, there are approximately 575 CVMs on Mumbai Suburban Railway stations. The Central Railway network has 350 and the Western Line has 225.

There are also Smart Cards available that can be topped up (recharged with some amount) and one can use it to print tickets for themselves from an Automatic Ticket Vending Machine (ATVMs). A Season Ticket can be purchased if one is commuting regularly. One can choose the validity of these tickets from 1 month, 3 months to a year. Season Tickets are the most cost effective and time efficient option for regular commuters.