Advertisements soon at all Metro stations

This will not only bring in additional revenue, but also improve the way stations look

Chennai Metro Rail will soon start putting up advertisements at all stations along the Koyambedu-Alandur stretch in a move to raise revenue.

According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they have finalised the space on the station premises where advertisements would be placed.

“This will not only bring in additional revenue for us, but also improve the way the stations look; in a few months, we should have advertisements at all stations along this stretch,” an official said. Chennai Metro Rail’s first service started in June last after five years of construction work between Koyambedu and Alandur, a distance of 10 km. Only recently, several months after inauguration, advertisements were put up on two trains running along this corridor.

There are nine trains currently operating between Koyambedu and Alandur. Officials said the remaining trains too would have advertisements soon. These would be wrapped around the coaches. “We have awarded the contract to a firm that may finish the work in a few months. Property development is one of the major sources of revenue for us,” he added.

Ticket fares

The ticket prices for this stretch range between Rs. 10 and Rs. 40 for the normal class; for the special class, the fares will be double.

Since the average number of passengers a day for Chennai Metro Rail is about 10,000, CMRL expects to gain considerable revenue from these property development initiatives.

“It is like a cycle; if the stations look better, you have more people travelling and, this way, the revenue may slowly improve,” an official said.