Oh, yeah. I think all of Japan is cashless on the trains, because they have turnstiles everywhere, including for the Shinkansen. I won't swear that there isn't some private branch line somewhere out in the sticks with a conductor who takes cash, but I've never seen it.
Hong Kong and Singapore are both cashless but that's because neither of them has any medium-distance rail that doesn't leave the country/territory. :) But I don't actually think you can pay cash on board in either China or Malaysia.
In China on-board ticketing would add to the existing chaos during Chunyun. It's bad enough the way it is now; I can't actually imagine they can get a conductor through the hard seat train cars to do ticket checks during that crush. China does ticket inspection at turnstiles or with staff on both entry and exit.
All the elektrichka services I've ever taken in the former Soviet Union required payment before boarding. Ticket checks sometimes happen on board, but on-board staff don't sell tickets, they just fine you for not having one. They're rare enough that I posted when I actually had my ticket checked.
I have never seen a ticket check on a commuter service (as opposed to metro) in Delhi or Mumbai. I mean, theoretically they exist, because I've read newspaper stories about people being caught for fare evasion, but I've never personally seen a fare inspector. In Delhi it was actually impossible to buy one at the outlying station I boarded at because there was no ticket office open--there was one, but it was long derelict and looked to be occupied by squatters--and when I asked other riders they looked at me like I was from Mars.
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Date: 2018-12-14 06:59 pm (UTC)Hong Kong and Singapore are both cashless but that's because neither of them has any medium-distance rail that doesn't leave the country/territory. :) But I don't actually think you can pay cash on board in either China or Malaysia.
In China on-board ticketing would add to the existing chaos during Chunyun. It's bad enough the way it is now; I can't actually imagine they can get a conductor through the hard seat train cars to do ticket checks during that crush. China does ticket inspection at turnstiles or with staff on both entry and exit.
All the elektrichka services I've ever taken in the former Soviet Union required payment before boarding. Ticket checks sometimes happen on board, but on-board staff don't sell tickets, they just fine you for not having one. They're rare enough that I posted when I actually had my ticket checked.
I have never seen a ticket check on a commuter service (as opposed to metro) in Delhi or Mumbai. I mean, theoretically they exist, because I've read newspaper stories about people being caught for fare evasion, but I've never personally seen a fare inspector. In Delhi it was actually impossible to buy one at the outlying station I boarded at because there was no ticket office open--there was one, but it was long derelict and looked to be occupied by squatters--and when I asked other riders they looked at me like I was from Mars.
(Sorry for the brain-dump.)