Chennai Metro to roll out debit cards to board trains
India Today
People could simply tap their debit or credit cards to board a Metro train by mid-2022 in Chennai. The ticket fare will get deducted from the debit card.
The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is planning to launch debit or credit cards for commuters by mid-2022. If you are a frequent metro traveller in Chennai, then soon you may be able to board the train by simply tapping their debit or credit card. The distance travelled by the commuter will be installed by the machine installed in the AFC gate and the fare will be deducted.
The commuters will have to tap their card on the reader of the automatic fare collection gate (AFC) gate for it to open. The passengers must tap again to exit the station when the journey ends, the Times of India (TOI) revealed in its report.
As per the reports, the ticket fare will be deducted from the card and commuters can use the cards on the AFC gates on the concourse level. An official told TOI, "In an account-based ticketing, commuters must tap their debit or credit card at the AFC gate for it to open.
"At the end of the journey, they must tap again to exit the station," he said.
The Metro is also planning to launch account-based ticketing in a few months and commuters will not have a paper ticket. An official said that it would be a bank transaction working through the internet.
The officials working at the Metro station said that they are in talks with payment processing companies and they will also launch the account-based ticketing in three to five months.
In another significant development, the CMRL is also planning to roll out a Smart Card for metro commuters which will be compatible with the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) of the Government of India.
