Costly ticket of Chennai Metro Rail

At present, the fares of Chennai Metro Rail range from ₹10-₹50 for normal class, depending on the distance covered, and double this amount for special class. Currently, the highest fare elsewhere in the country is ₹60, with the airport line in Delhi. That makes Chennai’s metro rail’s fares the costliest in the country already. So, the special class rate when the base tariff goes up to ₹70, would be ₹140.

“The discussions are on in this regard; this price may be only for those travelling distances of 24 km–45 km; People can save time when they travel by the Metro Rail for that distance,” an official said.

For instance, when the entire 45 km of phase I becomes operational, a person who travels from Washermanpet to Chennai Airport, a distance of about 25 km, he or she may have to pay ₹ 70. If they take the special class, then the fare is ₹ 140. 

Experts say public transport, ideally, should not have such high pricing. Delhi Metro Rail, for instance, makes for a great example that shows Metro Rail running can be viable eventually, when the fares are affordable, they say.

Gitakrishnan Ramadurai of IIT Madras said public transport shouldn’t be expensive; across the world, several public transit systems operate under loss and subsidised by the government. “They may have arrived at such figures after conducting a demand-supply analysis to check how demand changes with variation of price,” he said.