L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad records 25% growth in ridership; revenue drops by 21%

L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) — which has built and runs the phase one of the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) for 69.2 km — has recorded the highest ever [daily] ridership of 5.63 lakh with more than five lakh ridership for about 70 days during the year (2024-25), recording a growth rate of 25% over the previous year (2023-24).

Yet, it has declared a 21% decrease in revenue - which is ₹1,108.54 crore in the financial year of 2024-25 up to March 31^st [2025] as against revenue earned of ₹1,399.31 crore in the previous financial year of 2023-24. The annual loss too has increased by 13% or ₹625.88 crore, which is up from ₹555.04 crore loss registered in the previous financial year.

₹627 crore through fare collection

The company earned ₹627.11 crore in revenue from fare collection through the metro rail system and (₹485.55 crore) from Transit Oriented Development (TOD) assets, advertising, retail activities at stations, rentals of optic fibre cables, right of way for telecom towers, etc.

The annual report of the company for the year (2024-25) has stated that the next level upgrade of its ticketing system or Open-loop Ticketing System (OTS) will be introduced in the current financial year of 2025-26 to enhance commuter convenience by aiding digital payments.

50 crore passenger journeys

The report, finalised at the annual general body meeting held recently, stated that about 50 crore passenger journeys have been commemorated since its inception with the operating ratio ranking one of the best amongst all metros in India due to control over operating costs and optimum utilization of rolling stock.

The Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) accredited ‘I-Metro’ , which publishes a comparison of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) every year, has ranked L&TMRH as the the top performer for 2024-25. The Periodic Overhauling (POH) for 14 of the 57 seats trains was completed during the year and is in progress for remaining trains.

12% energy requirements met with solar power

L&TMRH has replaced 12% of its grid power requirements for metro operations with captive solar power of 11.0 Mwp and solar panels were installed over the rooftop of stations and in the depot areas. Another 1 MWp of solar capacity is expected to be commissioned during this financial year. About 155 rainwater harvesting pits were constructed at various stations and depots to harvest about 60 million litres of water per year. The aim is to attain ‘Carbon Neutrality’ by 2040 and ‘Water Neutrality’ by 2035.

Worth of assets

The gross fixed assets comprising of property, plant and equipment, investment property and including assets under development was at ₹17,355.19 crore and the net fixed assets at ₹15,620.46 crore.