A passenger was caught for travelling without ticket in the country’s first air-conditioned (AC) suburban train, operated by the Western Railway (WR), on Monday. A fine of Rs. 435 was recovered from the passenger, and the amount includes Rs. 165 as fare, Rs. 250 as penalty, Rs. 10 as CGST, and Rs. 10 as SGST, an official said.

The AC local began its journey at 10.32 a.m. from Borivili to Churchgate. The WR in a statement said that it received a decent response from commuters. In a total of five trips, 446 tickets were booked and 579 passengers travelled. “We earned Rs. 62,746 from these five trips,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, railway activist Rajiv Singal, who has been a member of Railway Users Consultative Committees in the Central Railway and the WR, claimed that the train would be a failure due to institutional flaws.

Social activist Anil Galgali said he has written to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, and urged him that first class ticket holders be allowed to travel in AC local trains.