This year, the grand 75th Independence Day celebrations and later political developments had ensured that only a few remembered the 19th anniversary of the popular public rail transport system, MMTS, which went off in a flash.
It was way back on August 9, 2003, that the 42-km Phase I connecting Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Falaknuma and Lingampally, came into force. Gradually in phases, the MMTS service was extended in a unique 50:50 cost sharing partnership between the State government and South Central Railway (SCR). It was flagged off by then Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani.
The MMTS trains were not as quick as today’s Metro trains or had a frequency to boast of, as they had to compete with the regular passenger trains and freight specials regarding space and time. There was no air-conditioning and the trains were not punctual even during peak business hours. Yet, up to 1.6 lakh passengers used to take these MMTS trains with 121 services daily and more than 1,155 passengers per trip before the COVID pandemic.
As every other transport service began operating in fits and starts after the lockdown and subsequent waves of COVID for over two years, the railway authorities took about 15 months to restart the MMTS services despite public demand. Even Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy had to appeal to his railways counterpart to begin the services.
In July 2021, when 55 services were operating, the ridership was 29,174 with 530 passengers per trip. This increased to 55,537 passengers a day with 646 riders per trip for 86 services in the latest count, according to top railway officials. This, when the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) is carrying up to 3.70 lakh riders across the three corridors running services from dawn to late at night.
“We are ready to run more services if there is patronage but for some unfathomable reason, we are not getting enough people use our trains despite our best efforts. People do not seem to be interested in travelling in MMTS trains even though we offer the cheapest tickets (₹5-10 mostly), safe and environment-friendly travel,” an official said.
Real reason?
But, regular travellers seem to know the reason. “If they run more trains at least during peak hours in the morning and evening by adhering to timings, more people, mostly office goers and students, will be ready to hop into these trains. There was a promise of having an additional service during peak hours on busy routes but that did not materialise,” said entrepreneur A. Muralikrishna.
Also, during the pandemic, SCR started using the main lines —Lingampally - Secunderabad - Hyderabad - Lingampally — to run freight specials, which earlier used to move by the ‘Chord Line’ of Sanatnagar-Moula Ali, at the expense of local suburban trains to garner more revenue.
‘Wear and tear’
With trains and passengers reduced, the ‘wear and tear’ in suburban stations too started showing up, forcing people to look for alternative means even though it meant a hole in their pocket. On top of it, every weekend, close to 35 trains are being cancelled in the name of ‘maintenance’, making citizens wonder why these nine-bogie rakes need such ‘high maintenance’.
“Weekends and holidays see low attendance and hence, there are fewer services. Some trains are also being cancelled, after doing a thorough study, as there are no riders. We are ready to take up any remedial measures based on the suggestions of passengers,” said a top official seeking anonymity.
