At the Cannes Lions 2025, one Indian campaign that really wowed the juries was Lucky Yatra, an innovative behaviour change programme designed by FCB India for Central Railway. It swept a Grand Prix and garnered six golds.

But away from the glitz and glamour of the French Riviera, what was its track record on the Mumbai suburban railway network? It transpires the eight-week long Lucky Yatra Yojana by the Central Railway has closed with no discernible increase in ticket sales. The programme was operational from March 20 to June 15.

In order to curb ticketless travel on Mumbai’s suburban railway network, the Central Railway, which is a zonal railway of the Indian Railways, introduced the initiative wherein a valid railway ticket could turn into a lottery ticket with a monetary cash reward of ₹10,000 daily and ₹50,000 weekly.

The Central Railway had partnered with FCB Communication Pvt Ltd for the innovative campaign that relied on rewards rather than fines to change behaviour. To win the cash prize, a suburban railway commuter had to enter his or her mobile number, verify with a one-time password and upload the railway ticket picture on www.luckyyatra.com. However, only three passengers came forward to claim the daily or weekly cash prize.

“No substantial increase in ticket purchases is apparent when compared with last year. At present, the programme has been stopped,” Swapnil Dhanraj Nila, Chief Public Relations Officer of Central Railway, told businessline.

“We know that three passengers have come forward to claim the reward. Their ticket verification is ongoing. The response to the programme was not how we had anticipated,” said a senior Central Railway official to businessline.

Not publicised enough

While the cash prizes were lucrative, commuter associations allege that most railway passengers had no idea of the initiative, although the campaign talked about digital kiosks and banners. “We are railway activists who directly deal with the Indian railways. However, we had no clue about the initiative. We are coming to know about the Yojana only after it has been stopped. If we had any prior information, we would have informed railway passengers about it through our social media. Even if the cash prize was ₹1,000, ticketless travellers would have purchased tickets in the hope of winning the cash prize,” Lata Argade, Chairman, Suburban Railway Commuter Association of Central Railway, told businessline.

Meanwhile the zonal railway is evaluating whether to extend the programme. “In future, based on the requirement and assessment of the situation, the programme can be further extended,” said Nila.

Published on June 20, 2025