As the majority of Metro users believe the fares for the first class have been priced too high, this coach has less takers, commuters say. Chennai Metro Rail commissioned its first service between Koyambedu and Alandur in June.
Every train of Chennai Metro Rail has four coaches. Of these, the first class coach has cushioned red seats. But comfort comes at a high price.
While the fares for the ordinary class range from Rs. 10 to Rs. 40, those from the special classes range from Rs. 20 to Rs. 80.
Passengers say they find it too expensive to use the first class. Lakshmi Ramasubbu, one of the commuters said, “The ordinary class itself seems to be costly; can anyone pay Rs. 40 every day for a 10-km ride? Then, imagine paying Rs. 80. The trains are not crowded anyway so why would I want to waste my money on this class?”
M. Venu, another commuter noted that though there were trip cards that offered some discount, he said it was still costly for a commuter to use this on a daily basis.
“They should consider reducing the fares if they want more people to use this service,” he added.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), though the patronage for this class was less now it would certainly improve when the entire 45-km becomes operational.
“This is a feature that we added thinking people using cars may want to use when the ordinary coaches become too crowded. These first class coaches were used during the floods when the other coaches were running full,” an official said.
Commuters said the first class was too expensive and wanted the fares
to be reduced
