CHENNAI: Around 6 lakh passengers are expected to leave Chennai every day from Thursday ahead of Deepavali, prompting the railways and the state transport department to step up preparations with additional special trains and buses. While Southern Railway has announced special trains to several destinations, the state transport department has increased the daily reservation quota for government buses from 1.35 lakh to 2 lakh.
Based on the carrying capacity of existing public transport services, trains departing from Chennai Central, Egmore and Tambaram are expected to carry around 3.65 lakh passengers daily. Government buses are likely to ferry another 1.75 lakh, while private omni buses are expected to cater to the remaining 60,000 passengers.
Southern Railway on Monday announced special trains from Chennai to Kanniyakumari, Sengottai, Ramanathapuram, Thiruvananthapuram and other destinations. The state transport department, meanwhile, is finalising arrangements to operate additional special buses from November 5.
Transport department secretary L Nirmal Raj said the number of additional buses had been finalised and an official announcement would be made soon. “The daily reservation quota for TNSTC and SETC buses has been increased from 1.35 lakh to two lakh. Between November 5 and 7, a total of 79,414 passengers have booked tickets so far. Of these, 39,100 bookings were made for November 6 alone,” he said.
He added that besides high-demand routes to the delta and southern districts, there was considerable demand for travel to Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai and other nearby districts. Additional buses would be operated to cater to these destinations, he said.
Around 10,600 buses, including special services, are planned to be operated from the Kilambakkam (KCBT), Koyambedu (CMBT) and Madhavaram (MMBT) bus terminals.
According to official data, 98 trains depart from Chennai Central and another 85 from Chennai Egmore and Tambaram. All trains operating within Tamil Nadu and those connecting the State with other parts of the country are fully booked, with waiting lists exceeding 200 passengers on several services.
A railway official said a train could normally carry up to 1,800 passengers, but the figure rose to 1,900-2,000 during festival seasons, particularly on routes connecting Chennai with Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Tenkasi and Thiruvananthapuram.
In addition to regular services, around 10 special trains will operate from November 5. Advance reservations for these services will open on Tuesday, according to an official statement.
The festive rush hour
183 trains depart from Chennai Central, Egmore and Tambaram, carrying around 3.6 lakh passengers daily TNSTC & SETC buses. Around 3,400 buses ferry 1.75 lakh passengers daily to various destinations. Around 60,000 passengers travel daily in Private omni buses. Additional services to Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Rameswaram and other destinations from Nov 5.