Free Bus Travel for Season Ticket Holders as Chennai Train Services Face Disruption
The Southern Railway has announced a series of special measures to manage heavy passenger congestion on the Tambaram–Chennai Beach suburban electric train corridor in Chennai.
Due to ongoing renovation and modernization work at Egmore Railway Station, Platforms 10 and 11 have been temporarily closed for 45 days from February 20. As a result, suburban train services have been reduced, leading to severe crowding and delays, especially during peak hours.
To address the situation, the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) will operate 20 special buses from Tambaram to Chennai Beach at seven-minute intervals between 6:40 am and 9:40 am. Similarly, 20 additional buses will run from Chennai Beach to Tambaram between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.
These buses will halt at key locations including Tambaram Sanatorium, Chromepet, Pallavaram, Tirusulam, Guindy, Ezhilagam, Secretariat and Paris Corner. Passengers holding valid suburban train tickets or season passes can travel on these buses free of charge.
In addition, five extra 15-coach electric trains will be operated in both morning and evening peak hours on the Tambaram–Beach express route. These limited-stop services will halt only at Tambaram, Mambalam, Guindy, Egmore and Beach stations, reducing travel time from approximately 75 minutes to 60 minutes.
Further, the departure time of the Cholan Express has been revised to ensure smooth operation of express services. From February 28, the Nellai Express and Pothikai Express will originate and terminate at Tambaram instead of Egmore.
Officials said these measures aim to ease congestion and provide relief to daily commuters.
