CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) will operate special buses across the State to manage the anticipated festival and weekend rush of passengers from Wednesday.

A statement from the Managing Director of the State Express Transport Corporation said heavy passenger traffic was expected due to consecutive holidays, including Muharram on September 4, Milad-un-Nabi on September 5, and the weekend on September 6 and 7.

In addition to the regular fleet, 360 buses will run from Chennai’s Koyambedu terminus to Tiruvannamalai, Tiruchy, Kumbakonam, Madurai, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Coimbatore, Salem, Erode and Tirupur on September 3. The number will increase to 710 on September 4 and 405 on September 5. On September 7, 875 buses will be operated from various districts to Chennai.

From Koyambedu, 80 buses will be operated to Tiruvannamalai, Nagapattinam, Velankanni, Hosur and Bengaluru on September 3, while 105 services are scheduled for September 4 and 5. From Madhavaram, 25 buses will operate on September 3 and 4. In addition, 350 special buses will run from Bengaluru, Tirupur, Erode and Coimbatore to various destinations.

Officials have urged passengers to book through www.tnstc.in or the TNSTC mobile app to avoid crowding. Additional staff have been deployed at major bus stands to monitor operations. On September 3, 17,632 passengers had already booked tickets, followed by 23,032 on September 4, and over 20,000 on September 7.