Over 90 Lakh People Travel On Chennai Metro For 3rd Consecutive Month

With over 90 lakh passengers using the Chennai Metro for the third consecutive month, it’s fast becoming the preferred mode of transport for the people in the Tamil Nadu capital.

In September, 92.77 lakh commuters availed the services, as per reports.

A total of 95.35 lakh people used the services in July, and a record 95.43 lakh commuters availed the Chennai Metro in August, reports added. Traffic snarls and congestion have also made people opt for metro services.

According to a press release from Metro Rail, 3.74 lakh passengers used Metro Rail services on September 6, 2024, recording the highest volume of traffic. The announcement added that of the 92.77 lakh commuters, 30.99 lakh used the NCMC Singara Chennai card in September, 21.91 lakh used the paper QR, and 20.90 lakh used the travel card.

This year, 84,63,384 passengers used the services in January 2024, and that number rose to 86,15,008 in the subsequent month. With 86,82,457 passengers travelling in March, there was an additional increase. But there was a decline in passenger traffic in April with 80,87,712, and a rise in May with 84,21,072, nearly matching the volume of passengers in January this year.

Furthermore, June had 84,33,837 more passengers than the previous month. July saw a notable increase to 95,35,019, and August followed suit with 95.43 lakh passengers — the highest number since the month of commencement. In terms of the total number of passengers on a single day, August 14, 2024, at 3,69,547, set a record for August.

The first phase of the Chennai Metro train, which spans two corridors and covers 45.046 km, was launched in stages starting in June 2015. The first phase of the Chennai Metro Rail project consists of two corridors: Corridor I, which runs from Washermenpet to the airport (23.085 km), and Corridor II, which runs from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount (21.961 km). The whole network is covered by this phase of the project.

The remaining corridors in Phase I are elevated, with about 55 per cent of them being underground. Thirteen of the thirty-two stations are underground, and the other nineteen are elevated. There are Corridor interchange stations in Alandur (which is elevated) and Chennai Central (which is underground), respectively.