Railway Board rejects Telangana proposal for free MMTS travel

The Railway Board has declined Telangana's proposal to introduce free travel on MMTS trains, citing heavy operational losses. It said the State must bear existing and additional costs arising from the scheme and clear pending dues exceeding Rs 490 crore

Hyderabad: The Railway Board has declined the Telangana government’s proposal to provide free travel for passengers on Hyderabad’s Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) trains, citing heavy operational losses and financial concerns.

According to information available, the Board categorically stated that MMTS services were already running at a significant deficit and that introducing free travel would further increase the financial burden.

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It informed the State government that any proposal for free passenger travel could be considered only if Telangana agreed to bear not only the existing operational losses but also any additional expenditure arising from the scheme.

The Railway Board also pointed out that the State government has pending financial commitments related to the MMTS project and urged it to clear outstanding dues exceeding Rs 490 crore.

It may be noted that the State government had earlier proposed reimbursing the revenue currently earned through passenger ticket sales and sought to introduce free MMTS travel from June 2.

Following this, an MoU was submitted to the Railway Board for approval. However, the Board responded that the proposal could not move forward without comprehensive financial guarantees from the State.

In its communication, the Railway Board highlighted that MMTS operations incurred expenditure of about Rs 179 crore during the 2024-25 financial year, while revenue collections stood at only Rs 16.81 crore, resulting in losses of more than Rs 162 crore.