[vigsom]

Introduction

This is a review cum travel experience on my longest roadway ride this far – 1000 km from Mumbai to Bengaluru by an unusual mode of travel viz. a Karnataka SRTC Volvo Sleeper, christened Ambaari Dream Class. This coach comes with a host of features, misses out on some essential bits, but the overall experience was out of the ordinary.

[vigsom]

Why a bus for such a long ride?

I wanted to undertake an impromptu trip down south, and, as expected, there were no tickets available on trains at short notice. Flights have now gotten boring. Don’t know why, but I just visited the KarnatakaSRTC site to know if they had buses from Mumbai to Bengaluru (knowing that they had been plying services for many years). Options were an Ambaari Dream Class Volvo sleeper with departure Mumbai Central 1500hrs, and another Airavat Club Class Multi Axle Volvo seater leaving Dahisar at 1530hrs. While the Airavat had ample seats, the Ambaari had only a solitary berth available.

I took a while to understand the pros and cons of a road journey, especially on the unpredictable Mumbai – Pune and Pune- Satara sections. I however decided to take this under the following arguments:

1. long been wanting to drive this sector, and my plans got shelved twice with ever-changing rules around Covid protocols
2. wanted to experience the Mumbai – Pune expressway, and the Pune – Satara ghat sections which I’d never been on
3. to assess my capability in enduring a long roadway ride in a bus

Decision taken in less than 30 minutes, and I visited the Karnataka SRTC site again, to find that solitary berth still there, priced at a very competitive INR1987. I went ahead with the booking, and then found a train from Vadodara that would connect me to this bus.

I took a train from Vadodara at 0730hrs to be in Mumbai Central by 1300hrs. All I needed to do was to come out of Mumbai Central Terminus, cross the road, and enter the Mumbai Central Bus Station, which I was entering for the first time. The bus station looked rather old, but was reasonably neat. I was in there by 1315hrs. Seeing that there was ample time to departure, I ventured out into the massive parking to find many NWKRTC buses and there in one corner, saw the Ambaari Dream Class for the first time – looked absolutely royal in white with some nice graphics on the side. The crew had brought the bus into Mumbai at 1000hrs that day, and had just gotten up after some rest. I asked one of them, who was in rest wear and he confirmed that the bus would come to platform#7 at 1430hrs.

Ambaari Dream Class Volvo Sleeper resting before the long haul






Left side view


I returned to the waiting area, which was extremely comfortable thanks to great ventilation in the building, and waited with bated breath for the stallion to arrive.

Waiting area at Mumbai Central bus station - old but reasonably neat


The bus was at the platform at 1430hrs. Two of us were scheduled to board the bus at Mumbai Central and we were on our way 20 minutes ahead of scheduled departure, headed towards Sion to pick up more passengers.

[vigsom]

About the Ambaari Dream Class

The Ambaari Dream Class is a Volvo AC Sleeper coach (MG Starz) built by mgbusandcoach on the Volvo B11R chassis. This is powered by a 10,800cc turbo-diesel engine mated to Volvo ‘I-Shift’ 12-speed gearbox . From what I’ve gathered, the engine puts out a whopping 2100Nm of torque at 1010-1400rpm. Electronically-controlled all air suspension system (ECS) complemented by air bellows on the axles, anti-roll bars on all the axles and disc brakes on all wheels assisted by ABS, EBD and ESP, provide the desired comfort and safety.

Name plate


The i-Shift lever


Front wheels - 295/80R22.5 tyres - JK Jetway is a very popular tyre


Rear twin axles


The tag axle which assists in a low turning radius


Jacking point for the front marked


Forty berths are provided in a 2x1 upper and lower berth configuration The design of the Starz coach is elegant, practical and provides great aesthetic appeal with the right ergonomics. The exterior styling shows crisp lines and smooth and glossy sides. The front eyebrow headlamps with a massive windshield and a characteristic roof-tail section makes this coach stand out as classy. The window panes offer a panoramic exterior view

View from the window



Exterior views



The dashboard is ergonomically designed, with the driver control panels oriented towards the driver seat on either side of the telescopically adjustable steering wheel. The driver has a commanding view of the front and the sides aided by massive ORVMs and even more massive windshield wipers. I also saw a 7” monitor which I am sure is fed by a reverse camera although I did not see it in action.

The controls - note the headlamps on-off knob and the controls for the tag axle, vehicle suspension height control

[vigsom]

First impressions

The moment I boarded the bus, it was a wow feeling. Rich tan interiors perfectly complemented by dark beige plastics and black panels

Likes

• Classy on the outside
• Rich and easy to maintain upholstery
• Soft blankets provided to every passenger; white bedsheets are also provided if asked for
• Forty berths in a 1+2 combination – 20 lower and 20 upper
• Berths are neither too firm nor too soft – just right
• Head cushions at each berth to prevent the head from impacting plastic panels when getting up or lying down
• PU moulded ladder and side supports, are made to last long
• Silent and luxurious ride with even the worst of surface imperfections absorbed
• Mobile charging points, USB ports and reading lights for each berth
• Beautifully designed curtains to separate the berths from the aisle
• Rack at each berth with a dedicated slot to place water bottle, and ample space to even put a small suitcase in
• Hammer at each row to break glass in an emergency
• Emergency buttons at every pillar between one set of berths and the other
• Emergency exits – one on the left and one on the right
• Engine would be shut down at every rest stop to conserve fuel (I've seen many operators keep the engine running and AC on at long rest stops)
• The bus was locked at every rest stop to prevent entry of unauthorised folks and thus prevent loss of valuables

Dislikes (about the coach)

• Engine is audible at the last row of berths
• Cleanliness could be better – while the berths were clean, there was an odd bottle of juice or water lying around which wasn’t removed
• No washroom on board
• Drinking water not provided (not a dislike, but just calling this out)
• No dead pedal for the driver

Emergency switch at each berth pillar


Emergency exit - right side


Hammer to break glass in an emergency


The Aisle - note the limited gap under the seat enough to just store footwear


PU moulded ladder to access the upper berths


View of the cabin


Lower two berther - note the stainless steel luggage rack big enough to store two laptop bags and an overnighter with slots to keep 2 bottles of water


Headrests, charging points, mobile holders


Berth overhead controls - USB ports, reading light button, USB ports, rotary AC vents


Reading light on


Underseat space in all rows except the end - just enough space to keep one's footwear


View of the outside from the lower two berther


View of the outside from the upper single berther


End of the cabin - in the last row, berths are not forward facing


Steps to go up to the last row - high up because the engine is at the rear


Lower single berther - last row - level with the floor




Upper single berther - last row


Lower two berther - last row - level with the floor


Upper two berther - last row


Engine audible in the last row

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjwpT704BVU

Cruising at 80kmph at approx. 1100rpm


Cockpit view - note the paver block being used as a dead pedal

[vigsom]

Likes/ Dislikes about the rest stops and the route

• Ride in the Khandala ghat section, the Khambataki ghat section and from Kolhapur to Bengaluru are worth remembering
• Rest Stop#1 (Tea) : Food Carnival (after Talegaon toll plaza) – Rating 4/5 – good options for a quick cup of tea and some knick knacks. Although crowded, the place was neat, and turnaround time of the bus was quick
• Rest Stop #2 (Dinner) : Hotel Amruta Garden (approx. 40 minutes out of Pune (Swargate)) – Rating 3/5 - service and food quality was just average and mighty expensive for the quality offered.
• Rest Stop #3 (Breakfast) : Kamat Upachar, Sira (approx. 2 hours 15 mins. ahead of Bengaluru - Rating ~ 4/ 5– reasonably priced excellent quality food – washrooms were just okay and overcrowded
• Time taken to get in and get out of Pune was crazy – we were out of Food Carnival Talegaon at 1845hrs and it was 2100hrs when we left Swargate
• The dinner and breakfast rest stops were rather long – approx. 50 minutes each

At Food Carnival just after the Talegaon Toll Plaza


Amruta Garden approx. 45 minutes out of Swargate Pune


Kamat Upachar Sira approx 2hrs 15mins ahead of Bengaluru

[vigsom]

Riding the Ambaari Dream Class Volvo Sleeper

Part-1

From the time the bus left Mumbai Central, I got down to exploring the bus and what was on offer; did this quickly before the next set of passengers boarded at Chunabhatti. The views from the bus were outstanding – capturing some skyscrapers in central Mumbai, plus the Thane creek at Vashi. After we entered the Mumbai – Pune Expressway, I went towards the front of the bus and sat down on the step separating the driver’s cabin from the passenger cabin. The co-driver was kind enough to ask me to sit down in the jump seat for as long as I wanted. I ended up experiencing the ride of my life – all the way from before the Khalapur toll plaza to after the Talegaon toll plaza. Here are some shots.

Riding through Parel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sK10u3sfmw

Views of central Mumbai






Enroute to Sion


View of the Thane Creek


Approaching the Vashi Toll Plaza


Massive ORVMs and wiper blades




At the Khalapur toll plaza




E-Way cameras - middle and right lane cameras pointing towards the front of the oncoming vehicles while the left lane camera points towards the rear of the vehicle


Cruising rpm at 80kmph is approx 1100rpm. Note the white line just behind the i-shift lever - that line when aligned with the respective marking eg. R,N,A,M means the gearbox is in that slot. The bus would be driven primarily in M in a certain gear and would be moved to A only if the driver felt the engine was lugging eg. in the plains, once the bus reached no.12 gear, the gear would be slotted in M to drive as long as possible in top gear. Only if the rpm dropped below 1000 would the lever be moved back to A. I think this is aimed at maximising fuel efficiency.







This bus had done 4,06,000kms. Note the average FE and instantaneous FE. Pic captured at the first rest stop viz. Food Carnival


Nice hoarding of Jeep just ahead of the ghat




Random view in the ghat section


The E-Way ride is summarised in a few short videos below. I'd like to make a point here - that manoeuvring this bus requires skill. The bus is long at 15m, fairly tall, and moves up and down quite a bit, felt big time while sitting in the driver's cabin. There were times in the Khandala ghat where the driver would slow down to 10kmph, move behind a slow moving truck in the left lane just to avoid harrassment by cops who are always around looking for supposedly fast vehicles.

The plains

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUfFXpTPz3k

The ghat section - note the moron in the black Creta zip into a gap at 00:39

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIKGZm2Peng

One can see the now non-existent old Amrutanjan Bridge between 00:06 and 00:15 and Lonavla at approx 01:18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDBAspNuj8Y

Very sad - At 00:07, a rider was seen having fallen off his two wheeler, unconscious and awaiting medical assistance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT6hvSBZYTc

Kamshet Tunnel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lqi4BTNQ2s0

[vigsom]

Riding the Ambaari Dream Class (Contd.)

Part-2

This part was a mix of agony and ecstasy; first, the agony. Our entry to Pune was extremely bad. As stated earlier in this thread, we were out of Food Carnival Talegaon at 1845hrs and it was 2100hrs when we left Swargate. The highway, and the exits were choked at many points making it a nightmare. Once we left Swargate, one right turn at Katraj Chowk, and we were on a less cumbersome course out of the city.

Berth number displays at night


In cabin ride with the cockpit door closed - note that the ride quality barely suffers due to road surface imperfections

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpGgPgfnvWk

After a 50 minute rest stop at a forgettable Amruta Garden, I was going to experience the best ghat ride of my life – navigating the Khambataki ghat. Man, the bus was climbing the ghat effortlessly and looking out of the large window into the valley and the lights below, it looked like a flight taking off and curving its way out of clouds. Those few minutes were exhilarating.

Views at Khambataki Ghat (representative pictures)






Part-3

After a while, I dozed off, expecting to be shaken up from slumber every now and then as this was a road ride. Surprise of surprises, I slept uninterrupted for a full seven hours, something very rare for me. It was at about 0600hrs or so that I heard the crew announce a ladies rest room stop, warning that there was going to be nothing for the next 3 hours.

Our breakfast stop was at Kamat Upachar, Sira at approx 0845hrs. I’d read about this place and was expecting it to be only partially full, but boy, when we arrived, the place was teeming with cars and people, and the Airavat Club Class from Dahisar had made it there just ahead of us. The first sight for me was the washroom bursting at its seams, and passengers queuing up in front of the loos.
Co-passengers played musical chairs at the tables. The food was excellent, and reasonably priced too. Two idlis plus one vadai was priced at 67 bucks, while coffee/tea was 30 bucks. The coffee, especially, is worth a mention. Approx. 45 minutes later, we were on our way, and my estimate was we were approx. 45 minutes behind schedule.

Kamat Upachar at Sira (Karnataka)

[vigsom]

Arrival into Bengaluru

My original plan was to get off at Majestic and take a metro to Banashankari. However, I was advised by my folks in Bengaluru to get off the bus at the first metro station, Nagasandra, and board the metro to Banashankari. I eventually got off at Jalahalli at approx. 1120hrs, boarded a metro at 1128hrs, and was in Banashankari in about 45 minutes. Having experienced crazy traffic, and close calls of missing flights at the old airport, and trains thereafter, I’d call the metro the biggest boon for Bengalurians – and the patronage of users bears testimony! I ended up using the metro for all my local visits over the next two days.

Views of the Shivagange Hill off Dobbaspet

[vigsom]

Key takeaways

1. Never dismiss travel by RTC transport as “undoable”; one might be pleasantly surprised
2. Rest stops during road trips in common transport can be unnervingly long, but the great experience more than makes up for an additional 2-3 hours spent
3. Road trips have their share of disappointments and delays – lack of a washroom on board is a negative, and even if there was one, it would not help since most people don’t know how to keep it clean. Also those who can't hold on for too long shouldn't take long road journeys by bus
4. It is important to choose the right mode if travelling by road eg. in this case, the Volvo AC sleeper was the right mode while the Airavat Club Class seater might have been a tad difficult for a 1000km journey.

I must thank Karnataka SRTC and the crew of Parasuram, Thalavar and the third gentleman (whose name I forgot to check) for making the ride of my life so memorable!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[libranof1987]

Damn cool, thanks for sharing.

I'm guessing these coaches are what we'd discussed here earlier?

I absolutely love journeys in these Volvo buses, and the way KSRTC manages them is just excellent. Been on numerous Pune - Manipal, and Bangalore - Manipal journeys on various iterations of the KSRTC Volvos. The sleeper coach Volvos will make these longer journeys way more comfortable.

Quick question: how are the bottom seats managed? Do they fold as in the Railway side berth? Or, do the passengers in both, below and upper berths, have to sit on the extended berth for the entire journey. Not being able to sit upright for 18 odd hours can get cumbersome.

Also, do you think having a small pantry and chemical toilets (as in some class of Volvos launched by KSRTC earlier) would have made the journey more comfortable? Do those still exist today?

[V.Narayan]

Dear @vigsom thank you for opening a whole new genre of rail and bus travel for us and making it your signature theme. I did not realize these buses were so good. Your videos help get a feel. Do the buses carry a toilet?

[GTO]

What a detailed review, dude . Going to the top of our homepage today. Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

How are these buses generally driven? How safe are they? My biggest worry on an overnighter bus trip would be to get knocked off my seat in an accident. No belts while sleeping, or airbags in a bus, and I generally look down on overnight road-trips. I never drive on the highway past 8 PM.

[mvadg]

Thanks, nice detailed review. You took a great deal of effort to capture every single detail with relevant pictures.

How old is the bus? You've blanked out the registration number, so could not check. KaSRTC maintains their buses quite well, but I'm not sure how often they refurbish their interiors.

Good decision taking the metro! These days regular traffic in namma Bengaluru is a jam, if you move you should thank your lucky stars!

Also hope that Volvo will provide a real dead pedal, that brick could cause an accident.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

1. I'm guessing these coaches are what we'd discussed here earlier?

2. how are the bottom seats managed? Do they fold as in the Railway side berth? Or, do the passengers in both, below and upper berths, have to sit on the extended berth for the entire journey

3. Also, do you think having a small pantry and chemical toilets (as in some class of Volvos launched by KSRTC earlier) would have made the journey more comfortable?

Thank You, @libranof1987.

1. This coach is built by mgbusandcoach, while the one featured in the thread link is built by Volvo India. The difference in looks between the Volvo sleeper and the MG built Volvo sleeper is how the front looks, and the characteristic extended tail in the MG Starz . Although I initially thought that the aircon unit in the Starz was at the rear, I found that the Starz also sported the aircon unit in the center of the roof.

2. The berths are all fixed, and I was concerned at not being able to sit up comfortably. However, I found that one can sit in the padmasan posture or like a Sethji on a diwan, or just sit with legs outstretched, resting against the backrest; never felt uncomfortable at all.

3. A toilet on board would have been a welcome addition. Some private buses have a micro toilet positioned just behind the driver seat. My only concern is people don't know how to keep it clean (ref: Railways)

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Do the buses carry a toilet?

Thank You @V.Narayan. This one doesn't but there are buses that have a loo.; a huge limitation if one can't hold on for too long. The good thing is this we had restroom breaks typically every 3-4 hours.

Originally Posted by GTO

1. How are these buses generally driven?
2. How safe are they?
3. My biggest worry on an overnighter bus trip would be to get knocked off my seat in an accident. No belts while sleeping, or airbags in a bus, and I generally look down on overnight road-trips. I never drive on the highway past 8 PM.

Thank You @GTO.

1. This bus had 2 drivers and one conductor-cum-driver (didn't ask though). They take turns to drive. The first person drove from Mumbai Central all the way till 9pm to Amruta Garden. The next driver took over after that and am sure they'd have taken turns. This bus never went past 85kmph.

2. Volvos are built safe and more than intrinsic safety, safe driving is key. The drivers exercised restraint, never took chances and treated the long and tall bus with respect. I was there in the jump seat till Food Carnival, and could appreciate this. Somewhere in the Khandala ghat section, there was a spot where emergency braking was needed. The bus stopped absolutely comfortably.

3. I am no fan of night journeys by bus, but took this one since it was a KSRTC, whose drivers show no urgency. Also, I am quite careful about which seat or berth I travel in. Last row seats, first row right and left are generally avoided. In a 2x2 seat set up, I always prefer the aisle seat.

Originally Posted by mvadg

How old is the bus?

Thank You @mvadg; the windscreen was of 2019, so I am assuming the bus was built either in 2019 or early 2020. This one had already done 4.06,000 kms.

Sample pic of an MG Starz Volvo Sleeper


Sample image of a factory built Volvo Sleeper


Rare image of a factory Volvo sleeper and an MG Starz Volvo sleeper next to each other - captured by me 2 days back on an onward journey