KOCHI: Having successfully brought down its operational loss to around Rs 10 crore from Rs 32 crore in one year, the Kochi Metro Rail Ltd (KMRL) is now aiming to bring it down to zero in this financial year (2023-24). It plans to do this by increase ridership and stepping up activities in the non-fare sector. KMRL’s operational loss saw a significant drop, from Rs 32 crore in the 2021-22 financial year to Rs 10 crore in 2022-23 fiscal.
“Two years ago, when I joined KMRL, the operational loss was Rs 60 crore. It was brought down to Rs 32 crore in a year. Our operational loss for 2022-23 is approximately Rs 10 crore. This year, our target is to bring the loss to zero and make a profit of Rs 5 crore,” KMRL MD Loknath Behera told TNIE.
Behera said no other metro rail in the country, including Delhi Metro, is making a profit. Rather, they have huge debts to pay, he said.
“The newly-commissioned metro will have huge operational loss, hence the gap between operation cost and revenue. KMRL is only concerned about its operational costs. We have been successful in bringing it down gradually,” Behera said.
The MD said KMRL is focusing on generating revenue from non-fare box sector. “Our concept is to utilise our every asset to generate revenue. They include organising exhibitions, earnings from parking on metro station premises, running advertising campaigns and launching special offers to attract more passengers,” Behera said. He also said as per experts, a metro service will take at least 10 years to reach a position where it can help government repay the loan.
“However, we plan to reach that position early, through expansion. As per the recent review agreement, Tripunithura station will be opened by September, and trains will run in October after safety tests and inspections are done. This will add another 5,000 passengers, as per our estimate,” he said. “The commissioning of the Infopark-Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium line will add another 30,000 to 40,000 riders. Both fare and non-fare box revenue will increase,” he said.