The Hyderabad Metro Rail Project was first initiated by N. Chandrababu Naidu, then-Chief Minister of United Andhra Pradesh state, in 2003.
Currently, it is the second longest operational metro network in India after the Delhi Metro (285 stations) with 57 stations.
The initial official estimated cost of the Hyderabad Metro project was ₹14,132 crore (US$1.8 billion). This has been further revised upwards to ₹18,800 crore (US$2.4 billion) (as of November 2017). After a delayed start, a 30-kilometre (19 mi) stretch from Miyapur to Nagole, with 24 stations, was inaugurated on 28 November 2017.
In comparison, the first phase of 50-kilometre (31 mi) Hyderabad Multi-Modal Transport System (which operates on three main routes: Falaknuma–Lingampalli, Hyderabad–Falaknuma and Hyderabad–Lingampalli) was completed at a cost of ₹178 crores (US$22 million) in 2003.
Hyderabad Metro spans a network of 69.2 km across three corridors, with an average daily ridership of 4.44 lakh commuters in the fiscal year 2024-25.
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| Points marked S are MMTS stations close to Metro stations - Wikipedia |
It is the world's largest and only public-private partnership (PPP) Metro model in the country unlike other metros rails in India which are government-funded projects.
Despite generating a revenue of 1,100 crore in FY 2025, the Metro project reportedly faced losses of Rs 6,600 crore by the same year, driven by cost overruns—initial projections of Rs 3,756 crore escalated to Rs 5,000 crore—and lower-than-anticipated ridership, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic when operations were suspended for 169 days.
Losses had accumulated by the time all three phases of the project became fully operational in February 2020.
Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMRL) managing director NVS Reddy said L&T has been incurring huge losses not due to its operations, but due to debt burden and a high interest rate of 10% on its loans.
Larsen and Toubro (L&T), the main stakeholder in Hyderabad Metro Rail Phase I, is reportedly unlikely to take part in the proposed Phase II expansion due to considerable operational challenges and growing financial losses.