In the second year of full-fledged operations of phase I of Namma Metro, the fare box revenue of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has increased from ₹281 crore in 2017-18 to ₹ 355 crore in 2018-19, registering a growth of 26.34%.
In a release, the BMRCL has stated that it had achieved operational cash surplus of ₹83.5 crore in the previous financial year. “After considering the interest on loans amounting ₹112.50 crore, the net cash loss for 2018-19 is ₹29 crore as against the previous year’s net cash loss of ₹37.58 crore,” states the release.
It adds that there has been increase in operational expenses owing to salaries, wages, introduction of six coach trains and maintenance and energy costs. The state government has reimbursed cash losses to the tune of ₹202.27 crore for the period of 2013-2016 and ₹116.39 crore for 2016-17 and partially for 2017-18. “The improved operational performance leading to reduction of cash losses enabled BMRCL to seek lesser cash support from the Government of Karnataka,” the release states.
The release further states that the net loss of the company has increased from ₹352.25 crore to ₹498.41 crore due to higher depreciation charged on the assets for the full year.
“During the year 2018-19, Namma Metro has been able to record its highest daily ridership of 4.49 lakh on October 17, 2018, and highest daily revenue of ₹1.4 crore on September 3, 2018. The Namma Metro trains operated at a punctuality of 99.8% which is rated to be the best amongst all metro rail operators in the country.”
The BMRCL had initiated full-fledged operations of entire phase I (42 kms) in June 2017.
