Telangana Government Proposes Free MMTS Travel to Boost Public Transport Usage

The Telangana State government has formally requested the South Central Railway (SCR) to implement free travel on Multi-Modal Transport System (MMTS) suburban trains to encourage public transport adoption. During a high-level coordination meeting in Hyderabad, Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao proposed that the state bear ticket costs for a significant period. SCR General Manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava was urged to seek approval from the Railway Board. However, railway officials highlighted outstanding financial issues, including a pending payment of approximately ₹480 crore for MMTS Phase II. The meeting also addressed infrastructure bottlenecks, such as land acquisition and utility shifting for road overbridges and underbridges. Additionally, discussions covered the introduction of early Hyderabad Metro Rail services, shuttle connections between railway and metro stations, and preliminary plans for high-speed rail corridors linking Hyderabad with Bengaluru, Chennai, and Pune. Both parties emphasized the need for structured interactions to accelerate project execution and resolve long-standing operational challenges affecting daily ridership, which has significantly declined in recent years.