Chennai, Oct 7 (IANS) In a major move to ensure hassle-free Diwali travel, Transport and Electricity Minister S.S. Sivasankar announced that the state’s transport corporations will run 20,378 buses across Tamil Nadu between October 16 and 19 to clear the outbound festive rush.

The plan includes 14,268 services from Chennai alone, making it one of the largest festival transport operations in recent years.

Chairing a review meeting at the Secretariat, Sivasankar said the Transport Department has also written to Southern Railway, requesting additional special train services to complement the expanded bus operations.

“Around 5,900 special buses will depart from Chennai in addition to 2,092 regular services each day from October 16 to 19. Another 6,110 special services will operate from other districts, taking the total to 20,378 services,” he said.

For the return leg after Diwali, from October 21 to 23, a total of 15,129 buses will be deployed, including 4,253 special services bound for Chennai and 4,600 inter-district services to connect key towns and villages.

To handle the outbound surge from the state capital, special buses will depart from Kilambakkam, Koyambedu, and Madhavaram termini. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) will run 150 round-the-clock link buses between Koyambedu and the other two hubs to enable seamless passenger movement.

The minister also directed Highways Department officials to suspend road maintenance work on key arterial routes, particularly GST Road, during the festival week to avoid traffic jams.

Police have been asked to restrict heavy vehicle movement on peak travel days.

The Transport Commissioner will hold a meeting with Omni bus operators and police officials to curb overcharging and improve route coordination. Private buses have been hired to augment the government fleet, after last year’s successful trial in the Villupuram region.

With the Diwali exodus traditionally causing long queues and travel delays, the government’s comprehensive plan — integrating special buses, last-mile connectivity, traffic control, and coordination with railways — aims to ensure safer and faster travel for lakhs of passengers heading home for the festival.

–IANS

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