CHENNAI: The Chennai Metro Rail recorded its highest-ever monthly ridership of 1,06,23,764 passengers in July 2026, while the average daily ridership touched 3,42,702, the second highest since commercial operations began.
The July average daily ridership was surpassed only by February 2026, when the Metro recorded an average of 3,43,503 passengers a day.
However, July became the first month to cross the 1.06-crore passenger mark, aided by the 31-day month. The previous highest monthly ridership was 1,04,68,732 recorded in July 2025. The strong July performance comes even as Chennai Metro continues to operate well below the ridership levels projected in its Detailed Project Report (DPR).
Replying to a question raised by AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP Dhanapal recently, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Tokhan Sahu informed the Parliament that the 54-km Chennai Metro Phase I and Phase I Extension, built at a cost of Rs 22,149.92 crore, have been operational since February 2019 and March 2022, respectively.
The Ministry stated that the DPR had projected a daily ridership of 15.69 lakh passengers in 2026 for the operational corridors. However, the Metro is currently recording an actual average daily ridership of around 3.14 lakh passengers, indicating that patronage has reached only about 20% of the projected level.