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Russian Railroads wants to regain right to fine stowaways on commuter trains

The company is not allowed to fine stowaways on the train now; they may only be offered to pay for transportation or disembark

MOSCOW, August 26 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian Railroads intends to regain the right to fine stowaways on commuter trains, Russian Railroads President Vladimir Yakunin posted in his blog.

The company seeks to regain the right with the Transport Ministry backup, he said. “There is a legal aspect to it. We shall see whether it may be resolved,” he wrote.

The company is not allowed to fine stowaways on the train now; they may only be offered to pay for transportation or disembark. Yakunin said the large number of stowaways should not be regarded as a failure of the railroad transport reform. “Reforms are not the cause of the appearance of stowaways. The real cause is low culture and irresponsibility. There have been such people, the same as thieves, in any times,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Russian Railroads told Itar-Tass that the stowaway problem was particularly acute for suburban transportation companies, primarily for the Moscow zone, due to the enormous passenger traffic. The Russian Code of Administrative Offenses says persons traveling without a ticket on computer trains shall pay a fine of 100 rubles. Yet it says nothing which entity or officials shall collect the fines.

“Therefore, it is practically impossible to punish a person traveling without a ticket,” the railroads said. So, railroad companies charge extra for selling a ticket on a train. “This is not a preventive measure, which has no educational influence whatsoever,” they said.