Mumbai metro yet to roll, but RInfra is already seeking a fare hike

The metro has not even rolled out. And already they want you to pay a higher fare.

Mumbai Metro One Private Limited, a consortium that is constructing the city's first metro, wants the fare to be revised by 11 per cent even before the rail system is commissioned for public use.

A bureaucrat said that the lead partner of the consortium, Reliance Infrastructure or RInfra, has asked for an increase in fares.

Another official pointed out that fare revision calls for a prescribed procedure, which is a bit long drawn. "This brings into focus the need for an regulator," said the official, speaking of the arbitrary manner in which a fare hike was being sought.

Sources said that the main reason for the hike is that the cost of the metro had overshot the original cost estimate. When construction on the project took off back in 2008, the cost estimate had been pegged at Rs2,356 crore, but it has shot up to Rs3,800 crore – over 60 per cent – for the 11km corridor between Versova and Ghatkopar.

When an official of the consortium was approached for details on the fare revision, the official refused to give any clarification.

Already, test runs have commenced along a 7km stretch of the metro route between Versova and the Airport Road station. This segment will be opened for commercial operation by September 2013. The entire stretch, up to Ghatkopar, is slated to open by December this year.

Dear, Dear
The current fare structure for the first phase of the metro has been set as under:

You pay Rs6 to travel a distance up to 3km, Rs8 for up to 8km and Rs10 beyond that distance..

Here's what you will have to shell out after the fare is hiked by 11%:

You will pay Rs7 to commute up to 3km, Rs9 up to 8km and Rs11 beyond 8km.