Metro Rail fares to pinch pocket

The `10-`60 price band is higher compared to other Metro fares due to per kilometre slabs. L&T wants fares high as it incurred an additional expenditure of `5,000 crore due to delays.

The steep fall in Metro Rail occupancy in Delhi following the increase in fares in May and October this year, helped the Telangana state government to convince Hyderabad Metro Rail developer L&T to agree to the `10-`60 price band against its proposed price band of `20-`80.

Minister for municipal administration and urban development K.T. Rama Rao is believed to have told L&T that if the ticket prices are higher, there will be a poor response which will have an impact on the completion of the remaining 32 km stretch.

Despite this, the Hyderabad Metro fares are said to be higher when compared to some other Metros due to lower kilometre slabs.

Justifying its demand for higher fare structure, L&T is learnt to have brought to the notice of the state government that it has incurred an additional expenditure of `5,000 crore due to delays on account of realignment of the rail, land acquisition issues and getting railway crossing clearances.

To recover some of the losses, the government should consider the company’s fare proposals.

But Mr Rama Rao pitched for a lower price band by citing two Delhi Metro fare hikes in a year, after which occupancy came down by three lakh - from 27 lakh to 24 lakh per month. If such a situation arises here, the Hyderabad Metro Rail will be labelled a failure and this will affect future expansion, he argued.

After deliberations, the price band was lowered to `10 to `60.

But still, the lower per km slabs prescribed by L&T makes the Hyderabad Metro costlier than the Delhi or Bengaluru Metros.

In Delhi, the fare for the first five kilometres is `20, against `25 for the Hyderabad metro.

The price band for the 42 km long Bengaluru Metro is `10 to `48. A passenger travelling 42 km in Bengaluru will pay `48, while for the 32 km of the Hyderabad Metro currently, passengers travelling a distance of 26 km will pay `60.

The Delhi Metro charges `30 for a 12-km ride; Hyderabad Metro charges `40 for a 21 km distance.