The Tamil Nadu Transport Department has directed all the mofussil buses of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) to ply from the newly inaugurated Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam and the Madhavaram Mofussil Bus Terminus (MMBT). Addressing the reporters in Chennai on Tuesday after inaugurating operations at MMBT, Transport Minister S S Sivasankar said, “The KCBT in Kilambakkam comes into full operation today. As much as 80 per cent of the TNSTC buses operating from Koyambedu would be shifted to Kilambakkam and the remaining 20 per cent to Madhavaram,” he said. As part of the government’s decision to decongest the area surrounding Koyambedu’s Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), the bus terminus at Kilambakkam was constructed at a cost of Rs 393.74 crore. Touted to be the country’s largest bus terminus, the KCBT, spread over 88.52 acres, was inaugurated by Chief Minister M K Stalin last month. Initially, all the SETC buses heading to southern districts operated from KCBT, and Omni (private) buses followed suit. மாண்புமிகு தமிழ்நாடு முதலமைச்சர் @mkstalin அவர்களின் உத்தரவின்படி, வடசென்னை மக்களின் வசதிக்காக தென் மாவட்டங்களுக்கு செல்ல 160 நடைகளை, 20% பேருந்துகளை மாதவரம் பேருந்து நிலையத்தில் இருந்து கொடியசைத்து துவங்கி வைத்த போது.உடன் மாதவரம் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சுதர்சனம், அரசு… pic.twitter.com/mAyCVNjOAt— Sivasankar SS (@sivasankar1ss) January 30, 2024 As per the authorities, of the total buses operated to south-central parts of Tamil Nadu from Koyambedu, 710 heading to 13 routes, including Tiruchirapally, Vriddhachalam, Kallakurichi, Villupuram, Kumbakonam, Chidambaram, Neyveli, Cuddalore, Puducherry, Tiruvannamalai, Polur and Vandvasi, would be operated from the KCBT and the remaining 160 would be operated from the MMBT for the benefit of passengers from north Chennai. The minister noted that from Madhavaram, 18 bus services would be operated to Tiruchirapalli, 17 to Salem, six to Vriddhachalam, 16 to Kallakurichi, 16 to Villupuram, and 14 to Kumbakonam. It was noted that five services would be operated to Chidambaram, 11 to Neyveli, five to Cuddalore via Puducherry, 10 to Tindivanam via Puducherry, 22 via Tiruvannamalai, Gingee, and 20 to Polur, Vandavasi. Sivasankar said that buses from Kilambakkam are operated every five minutes to Koyambedu, two minutes to Tambaram, and three minutes to Guindy. As the operation commenced Tuesday, traffic snarls were reported near Kilambakkam. Motorists heading towards Chengalpattu faced severe hardships as the vehicles moved at a snail’s pace due to the long queue of buses heading towards the terminus. Meanwhile, the minister said buses would be operated to Vellore, Arcot, Bengaluru from CMBT at Koyambedu.
