Tambaram traffic congestion intensified across Chennai’s southern suburbs on Monday as thousands of residents returned from their native places after a long weekend and schools reopened following quarterly examination holidays, disrupting movement on the Tiruchy-Chennai National Highway and at Tambaram’s rail and bus terminals, according to a report by DT Next.
The heaviest congestion was reported along the Tambaram-Perungalathur stretch of GST Road, where motorists faced prolonged delays during the morning return rush. The simultaneous arrival of holiday travellers, school reopening traffic and passengers from southern Tamil Nadu created an unusually high volume of vehicles and commuters in the area.
The report attributed part of the traffic-management difficulty to the deployment of police personnel from the Tambaram region for security arrangements connected with the Madurantakam Assembly by-poll. This left fewer personnel available to manage traffic on the already crowded highway stretch, the report said.
Tambaram Railway Station also saw a substantial increase in passenger movement from the early morning. Several express trains arriving from southern districts reached the station one after another, bringing thousands of passengers into the city. Many of those passengers then boarded Beach-bound suburban EMU services, resulting in severe overcrowding on the trains and at the station.
Long queues were reported at ticket counters inside the station, while the railway foot-overbridge experienced heavy movement as passengers shifted between platforms and exits. DT Next reported that no Railway Protection Force or railway police personnel were deployed at the congested points to regulate passenger movement, despite the size of the crowd.
The pressure continued outside the station at the Tambaram bus stand. Passengers arriving from the railway station and others returning from their native places crowded MTC buses, while the limited number of city buses operating during the early morning left many commuters looking for alternatives. Several passengers turned to autorickshaws and cabs to continue their journeys.
Passengers also reported a sharp increase in autorickshaw fares, claiming that prices were several times higher than usual during the rush. The report did not specify the number of vehicles affected, the duration of the traffic delays or whether any additional bus or railway services were introduced to manage the crowd.
The disruption reflected the combined impact of road traffic, suburban rail arrivals and bus demand converging at Tambaram during the same morning peak. The DT Next report identified the simultaneous return of holiday travellers, school reopening and express-train arrivals from southern Tamil Nadu as the main factors behind the congestion. Traffic and passenger movement were expected to remain the immediate operational concerns as commuters made their way from Tambaram to destinations across Chennai.
