Hyderabad: After the rollout of free bus travel for women across the state, Telangana govt has now decided to extend a similar benefit to the city’s MMTS train services. If this plan goes through, Hyderabad will become the first city in the country to provide free travel on local train services. However, unlike the RTC benefit, which is restricted to women, the free travel will be for all passengers.As part of the move, the state has formally written to South Central Railway (SCR), seeking approval to allow passengers to travel free on the suburban rail network. SCR has responded favourably, in principle, but has asked the state to draft detailed guidelines and sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) before moving ahead.Officials are aiming to launch the free MMTS travel scheme on June 2, marking Telangana Formation Day. State officials say the initiative was designed to revive the underutilised MMTS network while also easing worsening traffic congestion in Hyderabad.“We have sent a proposal to SCR general manager to cut down traffic and boost ridership on MMTS, much like what we achieved with TGSRTC buses. Their response has been encouraging. This could transform public transport usage, with more commuters shifting away from private vehicles,” municipal administration & urban development department special chief secretary Jayesh Rajan told TOI.Officials believe the proposed scheme could help revive MMTS usage, especially as buses and Metro trains remain overcrowded on working days and road congestion continues to worsen.“Once the state finalises operational guidelines, we will study the proposal, make any necessary corrections, and assess its feasibility. After that, it will be forwarded to the ministry of railways for approval. If the Centre clears it, the plan can be implemented,” a senior SCR officer said.At present, Telangana govt provides free bus travel under the Maha Lakshmi Scheme, which covers women, girls and transgender passengers. Under this system, RTC issues zero-value tickets, indicating the journey details, and the govt reimburses the fare. A similar model is likely for MMTS, where SCR would issue tickets without charging passengers, later billing the state based on ridership data. Current, MMTS fares typically range between 5 and 15 based on the destination.MMTS trains currently run on Ghatkesar-Lingampally-Ramachandrapuram, Umdanagar-Medchal, and Hyderabad-Lingampally-Umdanagar routes. Around 88 services operate daily, carrying roughly 40,000 to 45,000 passengers. Before the pandemic, the network used to handle close to 1.6 lakh commuters across nearly 120 services. However, ridership has dropped significantly due to expansion of Metro rail and the availability of free bus travel.
