Singara Chennai Card Guide: How to Get, 20% Metro Fare Discount, MTC Buses & Recharge (2026)

Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) executed a major transition in 2026 by permanently retiring its older closed-loop smart cards from 1 May 2026. In their place, CMRL partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) to deploy the Singara Chennai Card—a National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) that serves as a single ticket for Chennai Metro, MTC city buses, and transit systems nationwide.

Why get a Singara Chennai Card?

• 20% Fare Discount: CMRL offers a flat 20% discount on all metro rail journeys when paid using the Singara Chennai Card compared to single-journey QR tickets or paper tokens. On a ₹50 ticket from Chennai Central to Airport, you pay only ₹40.
• MTC City Bus Interoperability: Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses equipped with NCMC handheld electronic ticketing machines accept the Singara Chennai card for bus tickets across the city.
• Nationwide Usability: Because it is built on the open-loop RuPay NCMC standard, the same card taps into Delhi Metro, Mumbai Metro, Bengaluru Metro, and toll plazas without any reconfiguration.
• SMS Balance Alerts: You receive an instant SMS after passing through turnstiles showing the exact fare charged and your remaining card balance.
• Retail and POS Usage: The card comes equipped with a prepaid RuPay debit profile that allows shopping at POS card machines and merchant outlets across Tamil Nadu.

How to get a Singara Chennai Card

Getting a card takes less than five minutes at any metro station:

1. Visit the Customer Care Counter or Ticket Counter at any Chennai Metro station (Blue Line from Wimco Nagar to Airport, or Green Line from Chennai Central to St. Thomas Mount).
2. Provide your mobile number and name for basic KYC registration.
3. Pay the issuance fee of ₹100 (which includes a nominal issuance charge plus initial usable balance).
4. The counter staff will hand you your ready-to-use contactless card immediately.

Fees and Limits Breakdown

Singara Chennai Card vs WhatsApp QR Tickets vs Tokens

Commuters in Chennai can compare their options below:

While WhatsApp and Mobile QR ticketing provide the same 20% discount on metro rides, only the physical Singara Chennai Card works on MTC buses and operates offline when cellular networks are congested.

How to Recharge Your Singara Chennai Card

Recharging your card can be done online or offline:

1. At CMRL Station Counters & AVMs

You can top up using cash, UPI, debit cards, or credit cards at any metro station ticket counter or self-service Ticket Vending Machine (TVM) / Add Value Machine (AVM). The balance is written to the chip immediately.

2. Online via SBI YONO / Transit Portal & UPI Apps

You can initiate a top-up through the SBI portal, Paytm, PhonePe, or Amazon Pay using your 16-digit card number. Remember that after completing the payment online, you must tap your card at a station AVM / Card Top-up Terminal to write the new balance to the card's chip.

Using the Singara Chennai Card on MTC City Buses

Chennai’s MTC operates thousands of buses across the Chennai Metropolitan Area. Conductors carry NCMC-enabled Electronic Ticketing Machines (ETMs). To pay for your bus ticket:

1. Tell the conductor your destination stage.
2. Tap your Singara Chennai Card against the top screen of the conductor's handheld machine.
3. The fare is deducted from your offline transit wallet and an electronic paper receipt is printed instantly.

CMRL Phase 2 Expansion & Singara Chennai Card

Chennai Metro is constructing over 116 km of new lines under Phase 2 across Corridor 3 (Madhavaram to SIPCOT), Corridor 4 (Light House to Poonamallee Bypass), and Corridor 5 (Madhavaram to Sholinganallur). All 118 upcoming Phase 2 stations will exclusively feature NCMC-compatible turnstiles, meaning your current Singara Chennai Card will be 100% future-proof across the entire expanded network.

What happened to balance on old CMRL travel cards?

If you still hold the discontinued green/blue CMRL smart card, you can visit any Chennai Metro customer care counter to transfer the leftover security deposit and stored balance to a new Singara Chennai Card or receive a refund as per CMRL transition guidelines.

For more details, visit our Chennai Metro Card Guide and Metro Cards Hub.

FAQs

Sources

• CMRL: Singara Chennai Card
• SBI: Singara Chennai Card features and FAQs
• Business Standard: Chennai Metro scraps CMRL travel card, transitions to Singara Chennai NCMC
• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) Standards