Railways Add Special Trains as Chennai Sees Record Diwali Outbound Traffic

Chennai's transport network was put to the test during the Diwali holiday window, with more than 1.5 million people leaving the city from November 5 to 7. While buses shouldered the bulk of the load, railways introduced a host of special services to accommodate the surge.

Southern Railway operated 132 special trains specifically for the festival period. Major stations – Chennai Central, Egmore and Tambaram – each recorded roughly three lakh departing passengers daily. To increase capacity, railway officials attached extra coaches to 22 mail and express trains and launched eight unreserved MEMU services.

Bus travel remained dominant, moving about seven lakh commuters via a mix of government and private fleets. State‑run buses alone delivered 5.15 lakh passengers, with a total of 3,319 buses running until 8 p.m. on Saturday and carrying approximately 1.35 lakh travelers. Thursday’s boardings stood at 1.4 lakh, climbing to 2.39 lakh on Friday.

The transport department had earmarked 15,659 bus services – comprising 5,743 regular, 4,405 special government and 1,013 private contracted runs. Despite the extensive schedule, the Kilambakkam bus terminal experienced severe crowding and delays of up to two hours, affecting passengers headed for distant locales such as southern Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Private bus operators contributed 4,717 trips, transporting more than 1.8 lakh passengers. Their daily figures were about 56,800 on Thursday, 75,900 on Friday and 56,000 on Saturday.

Heightened security measures were evident at railway stations. On November 6, railway police detained five individuals attempting to smuggle fireworks into Chennai Central and Egmore, reinforcing safety protocols during the festive rush.

The combined effort of buses and trains underscored the massive scale of Diwali travel in South India and the logistical challenges of managing such volume within a short timeframe.