The MBTA prepares for crowds at the St. Patrick’s Day parade

On Sunday, South Boston will host the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. In doing so, the city will see crowded train cars, long waits at stations, and hundreds of thousands of people crowding the streets.

The MBTA expects “nearly 1 million” people to attend the parade in South Boston, the agency said.

This year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the South Boston Veterans Council, will kick off at 11:30 a.m. on March 15.

During last year’s parade, the MBTA was so packed with riders that the Red Line had to bypass the Broadway station.

“It was out of control,” state Sen. Nick Collins, who represents South Boston, told Boston.com last year.

However, this Sunday, the MBTA began schedule changes and deployed large numbers of transit police to mitigate congestion and crime, the agency said in a news release.

On Sunday, the MBTA will operate the Red Line on a “rush hour service” schedule from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the T said. The Red Line may skip the Broadway station “during certain times due to heavy crowds.”

The MBTA will also provide shuttle buses from South Station to South Boston on the day of the show, the T said.

On Sunday, the bus will pick up passengers from Summer Street at Atlantic Avenue and drop them off on East First Street at the City Point bus station. The first flight will depart at 9:30 a.m., and service will end at 4:30 p.m., the MBTA said.

For those traveling to Boston, the MBTA adds additional train cars to rail trains to accommodate the crowds. the Vermont, Fall River/New Bedford, Framingham/Worcester, franklin/foxboro, greenbush, kingston, and Providence/Stoughton Lines The agency said it would operate according to special schedules on Sunday.

“Additional customer service and management staff will be available at the South Station to answer any questions and assist customers,” T said.

Bus routes Days 9 and 11 will be temporarily suspended on the day of the show. Route 9 service will end at 6:45 a.m., and the last round trip bus will depart at 6:30 a.m. The last bus for Route 11 will be at 6:15. The agency said that normal service will resume around 6 p.m.

Routes 10, 16, 17 and 47 will be tried Turns all day longMBTA announced.

The MBTA said some routes may skip the Andrew and Broadway stops.

Bicycles are not allowed on public transportation on Sunday, T said.

The MBTA urges attendees to celebrate responsibly and use public transportation instead of driving.

“The MBTA takes great pride as we continue to improve daily service for the public to use 365 days a year and to ensure everyone is able to participate and enjoy special events like St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. The safety of our riders and employees is always at the heart of everything we do as we strive to make transit the preferred choice for travel,” Philip Eng, MassDOT interim secretary and general manager of the MBTA, said in the release.