Why did old railway tickets have tiny holes? The fascinating reason explained

Old railway tickets, railway ticket holes, Indian Railways history. Those tiny holes on old cardboard railway tickets weren't a printing defect. They served an important purpose in railway operations for decades.

In Short

• Tiny holes on old railway tickets had a practical purpose
• Ticket inspectors punched them to prevent misuse
• The practice faded with electronic and printed tickets

If you've ever travelled by train a few decades ago, you may remember the thick cardboard railway tickets with tiny punched holes. Many assumed the holes were part of the printing process or simply a design feature. In reality, they played a crucial role in preventing ticket misuse and helping railway staff manage passenger travel.

Before the era of online bookings and printed paper tickets, railways across several countries, including India, used small cardboard Edmondson-style tickets. These tickets were durable, easy to store and could be issued quickly at booking counters.

WHY WERE THE HOLES MADE?

The tiny holes were created using a ticket punch carried by ticket collectors or travelling ticket examiners after checking a passenger's ticket.

Punching the ticket showed that it had already been inspected and validated during the journey. This made it difficult for the same ticket to be passed to someone else for reuse, helping railways reduce fraud and ticket sharing.

In some railway systems, the position or pattern of the punched hole also helped staff identify where or when the ticket had been checked, depending on local operating practices.

A SIMPLE WAY TO PREVENT FRAUD

Long before barcodes, QR codes and digital verification became common, ticket punching was an effective way to keep track of valid tickets. It offered railway staff a quick visual check without the need for electronic devices.

Passengers were expected to keep their punched tickets until they completed their journey, as they could be checked again before leaving the station.

WHY THE PRACTICE DISAPPEARED

The punched cardboard ticket gradually disappeared as railway networks adopted computerised reservation systems, thermal paper tickets, smart cards and mobile ticketing.

Today, most railway tickets are verified digitally using barcodes, QR codes or electronic databases, making manual punching unnecessary. While the old cardboard tickets are no longer in regular use, they remain a nostalgic reminder of an era when simple mechanical methods kept railway journeys organised and secure.

- Ends