Chennai Metro carried 1,00,26,601 passengers in September 2026, the third month in a row above one crore, according to Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). The busiest single day was 11 September, with 3,93,580 riders. Over the last three financial years, annual ridership has grown from about 9.7 crore to about 11.5 crore.
CMRL publishes a month-by-month ridership file and issues press releases for milestones. This article lays out those official numbers, shows how ticket types have shifted, and sets a baseline for the Poonamallee-Vadapalani stretch of Phase 2, which opened to passengers on 11 October 2026.
Annual ridership, by financial year
Summing the monthly totals in CMRL’s ridership file (April to March each year):
| Financial year | Passengers | Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 9,71,37,553 | Base year in file |
| 2024-25 | 10,60,08,387 | About 9% |
| 2025-26 | 11,46,05,653 | About 8% |
These totals are our own additions of CMRL’s monthly figures. The average day in 2025-26 saw roughly 3.1 lakh trips.
The growth is clearer over a longer run. April 2023, the first month in the file, had 67,19,510 trips. By July 2026 the monthly figure had reached 1,06,28,926, roughly 58% higher, before the first Phase 2 section opened. The first month to cross one crore was July 2025, with 1,04,68,732 trips.
The 2026 months so far
| Month | 2026 | Same month 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| January | 93,21,129 | 86,99,359 |
| February | 96,18,085 | 86,65,803 |
| March | 1,01,84,419 | 92,10,069 |
| April | 89,77,804 | 87,59,588 |
| May | 89,65,047 | 89,09,729 |
| June | 96,39,066 | 92,19,963 |
| July | 1,06,28,926 | 1,04,68,732 |
| August | 1,04,04,098 | 98,96,230 |
| September | 1,00,26,601 | 1,01,46,769 |
The pattern repeats each year. April and May dip as colleges close and families travel, July and August peak as schools, colleges and offices run at full strength, and November tends to soften with the monsoon. July 2026 is the highest month in CMRL’s file, at 1.06 crore.
September 2026 was about 1.2% below September 2025 in CMRL’s figures, the only 2026 month so far to come in lower than a year earlier. The monthly file and the press release use slightly different labels (passenger flow versus passengers travelled), so small differences between them are possible.
How people pay
CMRL’s file shows a decisive shift to the National Common Mobility Card (sold as the Singara Chennai card) and QR tickets. In August 2026, NCMC accounted for 50.79% of trips and QR tickets for 49.21%, while the older CMRL closed-loop cards, which made up 2.28% a year earlier, had dropped out entirely.
The September 2026 press release breaks QR and card use down by channel:
| Ticket channel | Trips, September 2026 |
|---|---|
| NCMC Singara Chennai card | 51,95,408 |
| Single-journey paper QR | 18,82,030 |
| ONDC apps | 12,33,659 |
| WhatsApp ticketing | 4,34,487 |
| Chennai One app | 3,12,300 |
| Paytm | 2,92,281 |
| PhonePe | 2,14,315 |
| Static QR at stations | 1,99,363 |
| Online | 1,46,504 |
| CMRL app (store value) | 1,16,254 |
The card’s share has grown steadily. In August 2025 NCMC carried 48,71,826 trips, or 49.23%; a year later it carried 52,84,196. Over the same period QR trips rose from 47,98,432 to 51,19,902, so both modes grew while the closed-loop cards disappeared.
More than half of all trips now use the card. Paper QR tickets bought at counters still account for nearly one trip in five.
What Phase 2 could change
The first Phase 2 section, Corridor 4 Stage 1A, runs about 15 km on an elevated line with 11 stations from Poonamallee Bypass to Vadapalani, CMRL said. Service began on the evening of 11 October 2026, with full timings of 7 am to 9 pm from 12 October, trains every 10 minutes at peak and every 15 minutes otherwise.
Because it opened in October, its effect will first show in the October 2026 figures, due in early November. The new line meets the existing network at Vadapalani, so some of its riders will also add trips on the older lines. Shorter operating hours than Phase 1 will hold numbers down at first.
To judge the effect fairly, compare October 2026 with October 2025 (93,27,746 trips) rather than with September, since October usually falls back after the August and September peak as festival holidays and early monsoon rain cut travel. A sustained rise above the 2025 level through November and December would be the clearer sign that Phase 2 is adding riders.
CMRL’s monthly file does not give station-wise totals. Station-level passenger flow is shown on CMRL’s commuter data portal, which publishes live dashboards rather than a downloadable table.
Quick answers
How many people use Chennai Metro?
About 1 crore trips a month in 2026, with 1,00,26,601 in September 2026, or roughly 3.3 lakh a day.
What was the busiest day?
In September 2026, the 11th, with 3,93,580 passengers.
Which month is busiest?
July 2026, with 1,06,28,926 trips, the highest in CMRL’s file.
Where does CMRL publish ridership?
On chennaimetrorail.org, in a monthly ridership PDF and through press releases.
Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.
Sources
- Media-wise ridership details, April 2023 to August 2026 (Chennai Metro Rail Limited)
- Press release: 1 crore passengers travelled in September 2026 (Chennai Metro Rail Limited, 1 October 2026)
- Press release: Phase 2 Corridor-4 Stage 1A passenger service (Chennai Metro Rail Limited, 10 October 2026)
- CMRL press releases (Chennai Metro Rail Limited)
