Passengers traveling to their homes for the extended Pongal holidays in Tamil Nadu are facing significantly increased travel costs. From January 14 to 19, State government employees, teachers, and educational institutions will have their longest continuous holiday in years, as the government has declared January 17 a holiday, with a compensatory workday on January 25. To accommodate the expected high demand, both government and railway services have announced additional trains and buses.
Airfare from Chennai to various cities such as Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), and Salem has soared, with sources indicating that prices have doubled compared to usual rates. P. Murugesan, President of the Tamil Nadu Travel Mart Society, noted that the rise in airfares for flights between major cities, particularly those to and from Chennai, is largely due to the anticipated spike in demand during the Pongal festival period. For example, one-way tickets from Chennai to Trichy have surged from around ₹3,500 to ₹15,000, and fares from Chennai to Madurai have jumped from ₹4,000-₹5,000 to as high as ₹17,000. The Chennai to Coimbatore route now sees fares increase from ₹4,500 to ₹20,000, mirroring such hikes on other routes.
Industry insiders attribute these fare increases to the basic economics of supply and demand. Meanwhile, officials in the private bus sector, including TK Thiru Gnana Sambantham, Managing Director of Tharai Group and Secretary of the All Omnibus Owners Association (Tamil Nadu), explained that although there are no formal price caps, the association has voluntarily agreed to set maximum rates for various routes upon request from the State government. These fixed fares can be accessed via the association’s website.
However, some passengers are voicing complaints about pricing disparities. For instance, if a vehicle is headed from Chennai to Kochi at ₹4,000, passengers can get off at Tiruchi or Madurai but must still pay the full price to Kochi. While it’s noted that numerous private buses operate between Chennai and Tiruchi at rates ranging from ₹800 to ₹2,000, some passengers feel that pricing policies are unfair.
Mohammed Afzal, Chairman and Managing Director of Parveen Travels Pvt Ltd, clarified that there are no separate prices for intermediate stops during peak travel days. Passengers traveling to Ernakulam and disembarking at Salem will be charged the full fare to Ernakulam. He emphasized that it’s ultimately the passengers’ choice to either pay the higher fare or select another transport option.
In just the last three days, over 600,000 travelers have utilized government bus services from Chennai to various destinations. Transport Minister SC Sivasankar announced that a total of 21,904 special buses are being deployed across the State to assist holiday travelers during the Pongal festival. An additional 22,676 buses are set to operate for those returning home after the celebrations, bringing the total to 44,580 buses dedicated to public transport.
Beyond the usual 2,092 buses, 5,736 special buses were in operation from January 10 to 13, with 14,104 buses running on the peak holiday days. The Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation has also decided to introduce 7,800 special buses for the festival from January 10 to 13, alongside an additional 5,290 special buses operating daily from January 15 to 19.
Services from Chennai are being organized across four major bus terminals, catering to travelers heading to various destinations including Puducherry, Trichy, Madurai, and Coimbatore, among others. The Southern Railway has also responded to the demand by running special one-way trains and additional services to assist travelers during this busy period. For instance, a special train from Chennai Egmore to Thiruvananthapuram North and an 8-car unreserved MEMU train to Madurai were scheduled to manage passenger flow.
Overall, with the travel landscape significantly altered due to the holiday season, passengers are urged to plan accordingly and remain informed about their options.
