Tamil Nadu is set to operate thousands of special buses from Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore and other cities for Mahalaya Amavasya travel, with additional services planned before and after October 10 to manage the expected movement of passengers to hometowns and temples.
According to a report by Dinamalar, 1,075 special buses will operate from Chennai’s Kilambakkam bus terminus on October 9 to destinations including Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruppur. Another 845 buses are planned from Kilambakkam on October 10.
Chennai’s Koyambedu bus terminus will have 210 special buses on October 9 and 180 on October 10 for destinations including Nagapattinam, Velankanni, Hosur and Bengaluru. From Madhavaram, 145 special buses will operate on each of October 9 and 10 to Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchirappalli, Kumbakonam, Vellore, Hosur and Puducherry.
The additional services are being planned because Mahalaya Amavasya falls on October 10 and coincides with a weekend, when more people are expected to travel to their native places and religious destinations. The special operations will run alongside the regular bus schedule.
The report also said that 200 special buses are planned from Bengaluru, Tiruppur, Erode and Coimbatore to several destinations. To support the return journey, 875 special buses are planned on October 11 for passengers travelling back to Chennai and Bengaluru from their hometowns.
Advance bookings indicate significant demand ahead of the travel period. The report said that 8,708 passengers had booked seats for October 9, while bookings stood at 3,950 for October 10 and 7,480 for October 11. The figures reflect reservations reported at the time of publication and may change as more passengers book tickets.
Passengers can make online reservations through the TNSTC website, www.tnstc.in, and the TNSTC mobile application. The planned deployment across Kilambakkam, Koyambedu and Madhavaram places the additional services across Chennai’s major intercity bus hubs, while services from western Tamil Nadu and Bengaluru are intended to support travel in both directions during the festival period.
The special bus schedule covers outbound travel on October 9 and 10 and return travel on October 11, with the transport authorities’ stated next step being the operation of the additional services alongside regular buses.
