Nearly nine lakh people have travelled from Chennai to their native towns for Diwali through trains, government and private buses, private vehicles and air travel, creating heavy congestion at transport hubs and along the GST Road, according to a report by Dinamalar – Tamil Nadu.
The surge was recorded during the two days before Diwali, with families leaving Chennai for celebrations in their hometowns. The report said passenger movement intensified at Chennai Central, Egmore and Tambaram railway stations, as well as at the Kilambakkam, Madhavaram and Koyambedu bus terminals.
Road traffic was particularly heavy along the GST Road in the Tambaram and Chromepet stretches. Vehicles moved slowly through the corridor, with congestion increasing substantially at night as more travellers began their journeys. The road movement added pressure to the public transport rush, as passengers used buses, trains and private vehicles at the same time.
Dinamalar reported that a total of about nine lakh people had left Chennai for their native places over three days through state-run buses, private or omnibus services, trains and private vehicles. The report’s account of the travel period refers to both the two-day passenger surge and the three-day cumulative movement, reflecting the wider dispersal of passengers before the festival.
The movement was not limited to residents travelling within Tamil Nadu. Chennai airport officials said passenger arrivals had also increased over the previous two days as Indians living abroad returned to India to celebrate Diwali with their families. The report said the airport normally receives between 6,500 and 7,500 arriving passengers, but arrivals had risen to approximately 8,500 to 9,000 during the period.
Passengers arriving from the United States, European countries, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Gulf countries, Singapore and Malaysia were reported to be part of the increase. The airport movement added an international dimension to the seasonal travel surge, with passengers reaching Chennai before continuing to their native towns.
The concentration of travel across railway stations, bus terminals, highways and the airport shows how Chennai’s festival-period mobility depends on several transport systems operating simultaneously. Rail and bus terminals absorb large volumes of passengers, while the GST Road carries private vehicles and buses moving towards southern Tamil Nadu. The resulting pressure was visible in crowded stations, packed terminals and slow-moving road traffic.
The report did not provide a detailed breakdown of the nine lakh travellers by transport mode, nor did it specify the number of additional services operated by transport agencies. It also did not state how long the congestion would continue after Diwali. The immediate travel movement, however, was concentrated in the days before the festival, which was scheduled to be celebrated the following day, according to the report.
