PIL in Madras HC seeks fixation of Chennai Metro fares on par with suburban services

The petitioner, MGR Viswanathan of Pattabiram, while referring to the election manifesto of the present Union Government, said, “Item no 8 of the election manifesto is about fixing of the ticket fare of Chennai Metro Rail on a par with suburban electric train fares. 

The ticket fare of suburban electric train from Chennai Central (Park) to Tirusulam (18 Km) is only Rs 5 and the ticket fare of suburban electric train from Chennai Beach to Tambaram (27 Km) is Rs 10 only.

Whereas the Metro Rail fare from Chennai Central to Airport is Rs 60, almost six to 12 times higher than the suburban train ticket fare.”

Further, referring to manifesto no 9 which deals with takeover of all the Metro Rails in the country by the Department of Railways in a bid to remove the domination of private sector and the contractors, and to provide employment to all sections of the society, the petitioner said a representation on both the aspects were sent to the authorities on various dates including the one on January 17, 2018. But as there was no response, he filed the current PIL, the petitioner said.