[DragonHawk]

Looking for recommendations for Bangalore - Coimbatore route. It will be my first trip to this part of the country and any recommendations on the operators would be much appreciated.

My plan is to take morning departure and return via night service. As far as redbus goes it lists Conti, KMS as two options with both leaving around 6am and also I am contemplating on taking KSR-EKM train service. For return journey I am given so many options which has left me confused. So folks who are regular in this route request to provide some feedback on the operators.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

My plan is to take morning departure and return via night service. As far as redbus goes it lists Conti, KMS as two options with both leaving around 6am and also I am contemplating on taking KSR-EKM train service. For return journey I am given so many options which has left me confused. So folks who are regular in this route request to provide some feedback on the operators.

KMS and Conti both operate Leyland sleepers on the route. KMS for the most part seems to have a newer fleet but both are quite reliable and comfortable. You're far better off taking the train as a dawn departure from Bangalore means struggling through rush hour traffic so timings vary wildly.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

My plan is to take morning departure and return via night service. As far as redbus goes it lists Conti, KMS as two options with both leaving around 6am and also I am contemplating on taking KSR-EKM train service. For return journey I am given so many options which has left me confused. So folks who are regular in this route request to provide some feedback on the operators.

SBC-ERS Intercity is a great idea - but it would depend on which part of Bangalore you'd be put up. Getting the SBC railway station, or to BNC or CRLM, which are the stops after SBC, could be your challenge. If you are put up anywhere in Southern part of Bengaluru, bus might be a better choice. You also have the option of using Alhind, which comes in from Hyderabad, and typically have pickups around 3-5am (different buses). Any of the early departure buses from Bengaluru (6am or later) would get to Coimbatore only at 1pm or later.

If you traveling overnight, my personal picks would be BSP, Swamy Ayyappa, Metrolink or Dwaraka. The last two are BharatBenz buses - Metrolink would be great choice between the two. BSP would be the best among the lot - very simple interiors, but well appointed buses. The average run time for any of these buses would be 7hrs - all of them are Sleepers. There are too few seaters if you are looking for them.

[TSIVTEC]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Looking for recommendations for Bangalore - Coimbatore route. It will be my first trip to this part of the country and any recommendations on the operators would be much appreciated.

I usually take the Kallada Volvo B9R day service to Palakkad which departs from Madiwala junction at 9:15-9:30AM and reaches Coimbatore bypass by 3:15-3:30PM.It takes a break at sankari around 1pm.Overall a good service may sometimes get delayed at Madiwala though..

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Looking for recommendations for Bangalore - Coimbatore route. It will be my first trip to this part of the country and any recommendations on the operators would be much appreciated.

Originally Posted by binaiks

If you traveling overnight, my personal picks would be BSP, Swamy Ayyappa, Metrolink or Dwaraka. The last two are BharatBenz buses - Metrolink would be great choice between the two. BSP would be the best among the lot - very simple interiors, but well appointed buses. The average run time for any of these buses would be 7hrs - all of them are Sleepers. There are too few seaters if you are looking for them.

I have been very regular on this route for the last 2-3 years and agree with Binaiks, all of the above "boutique" operators are very good. Have travelled on all of them except Swamy Ayyappa. Would add Kalaimakal (new operator & new bus) and Dreamliner to the ones you can consider. All of them run Ashok Leyland / Bharat Benz sleepers, are generally on-time, reliable and buses are clean. I have seen excessive honking by the Metrolink guy but otherwise no complaints. All of these offer multiple drop points on Outer Ring Road / Indira Nagar / MG Road if you are headed to any of those areas or Whitefield (as compared to the likes of KPN/SRS/Parveen who all ply to Kalasipalayam).

[DragonHawk]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Completed my trip to Coimbatore last saturday and both ways I went by bus as trains timings were not convenient for me. I took KMS travels morning service for my onward journey as there are not much options to choose if one is looking for morning service between 6-8. Bus was beautiful MG built AC sleeper coach on AL chassis. Live tracking along with SMS service were really helpful. They offered water bottles and blankets and berth also has individual TV screen with collection of movies in different languages. This is my second journey in a MG built coach with first was in KSRTC Starz volvo sleeper. I felt MG coaches offer much more premiumness than Veera or Prakash SMK Capella series. Quality of materials used and interior colour combination is top notch. We left Madivala at 7.40am as against the scheduled departure at 7am and reached CMC, Coimbatore at 2.45pm. Overall I would rate 3.5 as I felt punctuality and choice of breakfast stop were really the downers. Otherwise I am quite impressed by the crew behavior and the good driving skills and for the Rs.650 it is bang for buck.

For my return journey I went with Binaik`s suggestion and choose Swamy Ayappa travels 10.30 departure. Bus was Prakash built Capella AC sleeper on AL chassis and it was my first trip in Capella series. As mentioned above this is really a segment below than compared to MG. Bus was on time and got off at Dairy circle at 5am. For some reason AC was kept off in the beginning and only blower was on, I had requested couple of times to check AC and every time crew were on denial that AC is working fine. Being non localite and with my broken Tamil I couldn`t argue in an effective way. Finally one brave soul woke up after 20 mins and made them switch on after heated argument in Tamil. Except for this incident, overall journey was just OK. Driving was good with no unnecessary honking and was consistently maintaining good speed.
Next time given the option I would always stick for operator with MG built coaches as I felt it offers better comfort in terms of NVH and premium feel.

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Thanks for the suggestions!

Next time given the option I would always stick for operator with MG built coaches as I felt it offers better comfort in terms of NVH and premium feel.

Interesting observation; while I agree on the premium feel of the interiors of the MG Bharat Benz coaches (soft plastics, led soft lighting etc), i felt that the NVH levels were much poorer and the coaches were noisier. My experience is based on the rides with Metrolink and Dwaraka (which are both MG built Bharat Benz) Vs rides with Dreamliner, VHB, Kalaimakal, BSP (all of these are Prakash or Veera built coaches with Ashok Leyland chassis)

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Next time given the option I would always stick for operator with MG built coaches as I felt it offers better comfort in terms of NVH and premium feel.

Interesting!

Originally Posted by aroonanand

Interesting observation; while I agree on the premium feel of the interiors of the MG Bharat Benz coaches (soft plastics, led soft lighting etc), i felt that the NVH levels were much poorer and the coaches were noisier. My experience is based on the rides with Metrolink and Dwaraka (which are both MG built Bharat Benz) Vs rides with Dreamliner, VHB, Kalaimakal, BSP (all of these are Prakash or Veera built coaches with Ashok Leyland chassis)

Very True. I too prefer a Prakash (SMK) or a Veera built coach over an MG built coach. While the MG coaches do give fancy lighting and a premium feel, I find the SMK or Veera ones to have better berths and the ride quality also always feels better in SMK or Veera. The MG ones have too much body roll, and very poor NVH levels.

I've traveled in BharatBenz buses built by MG, Veera and SMK - SMK is my pick among them, closely followed by Veera, and MG a very distant third. Among Sleeper coaches, talking in general, the best berth I've had is in a Damodar coach.

[JMaruru]

Any recommendations for travel to 'Bangalore' from 'Puttaparthi'?

This is for a single lady, to travel on coming Sunday. She would like to travel around 3PM. Are there any good services apart from KSRTC. The only KSRTC 'Airavatha' service starts at 1.30PM and as such is NOT convenient for her.

Please suggest!

[PVS]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Any recommendations for travel to 'Bangalore' from 'Puttaparthi'?

This is for a single lady, to travel on coming Sunday. She would like to travel around 3PM. Are there any good services apart from KSRTC. The only KSRTC 'Airavatha' service starts at 1.30PM and as such is NOT convenient for her.

Please suggest!

Unfortunately, not many options from Puttaparthi to Bangalore at 1500 hours. She can take the 11013 Kurla Coimbatore express train, at 1720 from Satya Sai Prashanti Nilayam station (the nearest railway station for Puttaparthi), which will drop her at Bangalore City station by around 2245..

[JMaruru]

Originally Posted by PVS

Unfortunately, not many options from Puttaparthi to Bangalore at 1500 hours. She can take the 11013 Kurla Coimbatore express train, at 1720 from Satya Sai Prashanti Nilayam station (the nearest railway station for Puttaparthi), which will drop her at Bangalore City station by around 2245..

She came by the same train to Puttaparthi from Mumbai.

Are there any other bus/train services around afternoon? NOT particular about 1500 hour. Anything after 1400 should do.

Please advise!

[PVS]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

She came by the same train to Puttaparthi from Mumbai.

Are there any other bus/train services around afternoon? NOT particular about 1500 hour. Anything after 1400 should do.

Please advise!

https://indiarailinfo.com/search/ssp...re-/1577/0/136

Well, she has then has to head to Dharmavaram Railway station, around 33 kms away, and from there she can catch the Karnataka Sampark Kranti Express departing at 1515 (No service on Thursday and Saturday) which will drop her at Yeswantpur at 1945. Or she has to take a APSRTC bus to Penukonda and then take another bus to Bangalore. Again, I wouldn't quite recommend the bus option as I am unsure of the frequency of services.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by PVS

Or she has to take a APSRTC bus to Penukonda and then take another bus to Bangalore. Again, I wouldn't quite recommend the bus option as I am unsure of the frequency of services.

The distance is short enough that she can also hire a cab from a recommended tourist operator and reach bangalore in that.

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by binaiks

Interesting!

Very True. I too prefer a Prakash (SMK) or a Veera built coach over an MG built coach. While the MG coaches do give fancy lighting and a premium feel, I find the SMK or Veera ones to have better berths and the ride quality also always feels better in SMK or Veera. The MG ones have too much body roll, and very poor NVH levels.

I've traveled in BharatBenz buses built by MG, Veera and SMK - SMK is my pick among them, closely followed by Veera, and MG a very distant third. Among Sleeper coaches, talking in general, the best berth I've had is in a Damodar coach.

Since majority of you felt poor NVH with MG coaches then I believe it may be one of the case with Swamy Ayyappa which I took. However I used to be regular with Sugama Tourist which has 4 of MG leolite coaches like the one in the image, it was terrible to say the least. NVH was very poor and also length of each berth was comparatively less and 6" footer like me had a difficult time to sleep. Since my route Bangalore-Puttur had less option those days and I had no other choice than sticking to this.



There used to be a time when I was preferring Veera built coaches as they were leagues ahead of Prakash who were veterans in this field. Now with the competition getting heated up with so many players entering into foray, it is good to see them offering much improved products and we as a customer have more than one option to choose from.

[ajmat]

I did thr KSRTC Bangalore - Ernakulam sleeper bus. Left at 9.45 PM and reached around 8.00 AM. Fairly comfortable except that I was on the rear axle and when they stopped at 11 PM for dinner, the bus was stuffy as engine was switched off