CMRL begins replacing travel cards with common mobility cards

CHENNAI: To promote the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC), the Chennai Metro Rail (CMRL) has begun replacing the travel cards with NCMCs named as Singara Chennai cards.

The officials at the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) have clarified that only NCMCs will be issued to passengers from now on and the existing travel cards will be replaced in a phased manner.

Speaking to DT NEXT, MA Siddique, Managing Director, CMRL said, "CMRL has begun replacing travel cards with NCMCs. This is being done to promote NCMCs. So far, since its launch in April, CMRL has issued 81,000 NCMCs for commuters."

"CMRL transitioning all cards to NCMC is done with expanding their utility across various applications. The NCMC cards bring flexibility, allowing passengers to seamlessly use them for a multitude of transactions, providing a valuable advantage to our commuters," added the official.

Meanwhile, a commuter noted that while he approached Thirumangalam Metro station to get a new travel card, he was advised to purchase NCMC instead.

CMRL launched the NCMC in a banking partnership with the State Bank of India (SBI) throughout all 42 Chennai metro stations in phase 1.

Further, the card can be used in automatic gates of all the metro stations.

Additionally, passengers can book NCMC online or get the card at any SBI branch. Recharging can also be done both offline and online.

With features like the 'stored value area', passengers can store a maximum amount of Rs 2,000 for ticket purchases in offline mode.