New Year gift: Chennai's Kilambakkam bus terminus opened

The terminal can accommodate 215 buses at a time with eight dedicated bus fingers each for State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses.

Aerial view of kilambakkam bus terminus | Express 

CHENNAI: Twelve years after it was announced, the Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam was inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday. Built at a cost of Rs 393.74 crore on 88.52 acres, the terminus for south-bound buses is named after former chief minister M Karunanidhi as part of his birth centenary celebration.

The project, aimed at reducing traffic in Chennai, was first announced by former chief minister J Jayalalithaa in 2011, the site was finalised by the AIADMK government in 2017, and former chief minister
Edapaddi K Palaniswami laid the foundation stone for the project in 2019.

Chief Minister M K Stalin inaugurated Kilambakkam bus terminus and flagged off bus services from the new facility in Chennai | Express

The terminal can accommodate 215 buses at a time with eight dedicated bus fingers each for State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses. SETC operates buses for destinations that are beyond 300km, TNSTC operates buses for shorter distances.

While SETC would start its operation from Kilambakkam on Sunday, TNSTC would start operating buses from the terminus after Pongal, Transport Minister S S Sivasankar said. Commuters may face some connectivity issues in the initial days as the skywalk linking the bus terminus with the proposed suburban railway station may be delayed. Passengers may have to depend on call taxis, autorickshaws, or MTC buses to reach other parts of the city.

Terminus opening delayed by floods: min

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekarbabu told TNIE that the rail connectivity would take time and it would be a waste of public money to keep the bus terminus idle till then. “There will be local bus (MTC) connectivity every five to 10 minutes,” Sekarbabu said. The opening was delayed as the terminus was inundated in the recent flood and a storm water drain is being laid to ensure draining of rainwater to Urapakkam Eri, he said. The terminus is facing legal scrutiny in a case filed by activist Vaishnavi Jayakumar about lack of compliance with the Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility in India, 2021.