[Rakeshmbalaji]

Hi folks,

I am driving to Chennai today after almost an year. We live near Kadugodi and will go through Hoskote. Should I take the new expressway (as shown in GMaps) or stick to the usual Kolar - Mulbagal - Chittoor Collector office - Ranipet route?

We have two toddlers and driving a Honda City, thanks for your valuable suggestions.

[binand]

Originally Posted by Rakeshmbalaji

We have two toddlers and driving a Honda City, thanks for your valuable suggestions.

Then my suggestion would be - don't experiment.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Landkruzer

I drove on this Sundarapalaya to Mulbagal road (Marked NH75 on GMaps) after exiting the BCE. I didnt see any board or milestone with NH 75 written on them. I saw many milestones with MDR marked on them. Seems that one segment of NH 75 ends at Mulbagal and next segment starts from Venkatagiri kota.

You are right. The NH75 definition is new as a part of the new numbering scheme. It now includes a large section of the Mangalore-Bangalore Highway, there on to Mulbagal, Sundarapalaya - V Kota - Gudiyatam - Katpadi - Vellore.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation...hway_75_(India)

[tharian]

I hate to be the one promoting rail travel on a road travel thread having traveled by car most of the times between Bangalore and Chennai.

I travelled by the morning Vandhe Bharath from KR Puram to Chennai yesterday and was impressed. This was the 8 coach one and it picks up speed probably quicker than a Volvo intercity bus. Departed KR Puram and reached Chennai Central exactly 4 hours later. The impressive part was that it reached Banagrpet in less than 30 mins and Jolarpet in little more than an hour. From KR Puram, the train is more or less at 130 kph now all the way and was able to maintain it. Some sections, time was lost due to line clearance or track work and some un-scheduled stops at couple of stations.
The ride comfort in VB is much better than in the Shatabdi especially when it does 130 kmph. The speed is noticed when nearing Central in the suburbs due to the proximity of buildings.

Overall a comfortable journey and way more convineant than driving, atleast till the expressway is fully opened. I did notice a new expressway being built with the bridge over the railway line nearing Sholingur, not sure if it is the Bangalore - Chennai one.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by tharian

I did notice a new expressway being built with the bridge over the railway line nearing Sholingur, not sure if it is the Bangalore - Chennai one.

Yes thats the Bangalore-Chennai Expressway indeed. Meanwhile you can also see the STRR ROB coming up after Whitefield.


And yes, these days if you can plan a travel on Vande Bharat and manage your stration entry/exit times tight, its a great option to relax and enjoy the travel. The train really picks-up speed.

So even I would suggest train travel till, the expressway comes and also all the roadworks complete from Hosur-Krishnagiri, Ranipet-Chennai and Chittor-Ranipet.

[Jazzybala]

I did a bangalore-Gudiyatham-vellore-bangalore trip over the weekend. For the onward route, I took the traditional Krishnagiri route. Noticed at least 3 flyovers are completed on this route, significantly reducing the wait time and most of the route also has fresh tarmac on it. Took the Pallikonda diversion to Gudiyatham as I wanted to charge up at the Chargezone charger there.

On the way back, took the expressway via a small detour from just before Ambur, as I wanted to top up at Chargezone near Annapoorna Hotel. The route took me through some really small but equally gorgeous village roads till it connected to the Pernambut-Gudiyatham State highway, which then further connected to a NH(Mangalore-Villupuram road), then aren't left on to NH75(formerly NH48) for some gorgeous hillscape ride to venkatagirikota from where it connects to Bangalore Chennai Expressway.

The roads were more than decent across the tamilnadu section of the route and were being developed in AP. The Expressway was butter smooth almost straight, undulating strip of tarmac with hardly any traffic currently. What a pleasure it was to explore this new route.

Fair warning: this route is not to be preferred in night time, strictly a day time route as it passes through quite some wild areas and lot of population centers

[Habanero City]

Originally Posted by tharian

I hate to be the one promoting rail travel on a road travel thread having traveled by car most of the times between Bangalore and Chennai.

I travelled by the morning Vandhe Bharath from KR Puram to Chennai yesterday and was impressed. This was the 8 coach one and it picks up speed probably quicker than a Volvo intercity bus. Departed KR Puram and reached Chennai Central exactly 4 hours later. The impressive part was that it reached Banagrpet in less than 30 mins and Jolarpet in little more than an hour. From KR Puram, the train is more or less at 130 kph now all the way and was able to maintain it. Some sections, time was lost due to line clearance or track work and some un-scheduled stops at couple of stations.
The ride comfort in VB is much better than in the Shatabdi especially when it does 130 kmph. The speed is noticed when nearing Central in the suburbs due to the proximity of buildings.

Overall a comfortable journey and way more convineant than driving, atleast till the expressway is fully opened. I did notice a new expressway being built with the bridge over the railway line nearing Sholingur, not sure if it is the Bangalore - Chennai one.

You have to plan well in advance to get confirmed booking in this VB both ways, I have not been lucky so far.
It is quite convenient as it stops at KJM and at very convenient time too.
It would be helpful if SR can increase it to 16 coaches.

if the 6AM shatapti can stop both ways at KJM it would be helpful for many who live around this place.
Otherwise this train is the least preferred among all the trains between SBC and MAS.

Train is better as long as one can get further connected by metro, otherwise it is difficult to commute by road.

However having a car for local commute at your convenience also matters.

[anandhsub]

Driving down to Chennai this weekend and thinking of taking the expressway- VKota- Gudiyattam- Vellore- Chennai route.

In the past when the Chittoor route was getting four laned have taken the Palamner-Gudiyattam-Vellore route several times and that was a pretty good drive.

Is V Kota-Gudiyattam similar or worse?

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by ampere

And yes, these days if you can plan a travel on Vande Bharat and manage your stration entry/exit times tight, its a great option to relax and enjoy the travel. The train really picks-up speed.

They should introduce a new Vande Bharat between Bengaluru Cantt and Tambaram with stops at KR Puram (or Whitefield), Perambur and Egmore. They can also extend it till Villupuram if timings permit.

A train to Tambaram would serve as a good gateway to trains towards TN delta region.

[carhead]

Originally Posted by tharian

I hate to be the one promoting rail travel on a road travel thread having traveled by car most of the times between Bangalore and Chennai.

Thats perfectly fine. Am sure cost, convenience & environmental benefits outweigh those by road.

Side note: Am based in NCR having never travelled this route. Whats the City Center travel distance & time by road? How does that compare with Shatabdi & Vande Bharat?

[binand]

Originally Posted by carhead

Side note: Am based in NCR having never travelled this route. Whats the City Center travel distance & time by road? How does that compare with Shatabdi & Vande Bharat?

Bangalore-Chennai by road takes 3.5-4h city edge to city edge (Attibele to Poonamallee; 300 km) plus in-city travel time, not accounting for stops/delays/diversions etc. Budget 7 hours though several people claim to have done it in 6.

Train timings and off days can be looked up on a number of websites. They take 4.5-5.5 hours depending on which one you take (there are 2x Shatabdi and 2x Vande Bharat), and cheaper but slower trains like Brindavan, Lal Bagh etc. can also be considered. Note that the premium trains don't stop at smaller stations within city limits as a rule though exceptions exist.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by tharian

I hate to be the one promoting rail travel on a road travel thread having traveled by car most of the times between Bangalore and Chennai.

I travelled by the morning Vandhe Bharath from KR Puram to Chennai yesterday and was impressed. This was the 8 coach one and it picks up speed probably quicker than a Volvo intercity bus. Departed KR Puram and reached Chennai Central exactly 4 hours later. The impressive part was that it reached Banagrpet in less than 30 mins and Jolarpet in little more than an hour. From KR Puram, the train is more or less at 130 kph now all the way and was able to maintain it. Some sections, time was lost due to line clearance or track work and some un-scheduled stops at couple of stations.
The ride comfort in VB is much better than in the Shatabdi especially when it does 130 kmph. The speed is noticed when nearing Central in the suburbs due to the proximity of buildings.

Overall a comfortable journey and way more convineant than driving, atleast till the expressway is fully opened. I did notice a new expressway being built with the bridge over the railway line nearing Sholingur, not sure if it is the Bangalore - Chennai one.

Agreed, I had an opportunity to experience the same while returning from Chennai to Bangalore. Punctual to the Dot and as always all the Shatabdi and VBs to Mysore or Bangalore are always on Platform 2A at central railway station. I was lucky to get a current booking confirmed ticket which I tried 3 hours before departure. The orange VB stops at KR Puram by 9pm and starts from central at 5pm sharp! I was impressed with IRs punctuality (however I know other trains on the line might be stopped to make way for the VB) and the journey was a bliss and even better than the LHB rake Shatabdi. No jerks, clean washrooms and ergonomics are spot on. Attenders are polite and food kept coming. By the time I finished a couple of calls, eating food and reading the newspaper, I see that the train has reached Devangonthi. This is the same time I take door to door from Bangalore to Chennai by car too but the train is better if you're alone.

Overall a pleasant journey and a great alternative from roads (till the expressway gets completed) and flights.

If IR is able to launch a VB sleeper from Bangalore to Delhi and the journey time is within 20-24 hours and one train to Bombay (13-16 hrs to Bombay is car territory) , the trains will give flights a run for their money. Reason being to reach the airport both to and fro(takes atleast 1-2 hrs one way) and the hidden costs such as cabs and inflated food prices.

Originally Posted by carhead

Thats perfectly fine. Am sure cost, convenience & environmental benefits outweigh those by road.

Side note: Am based in NCR having never travelled this route. Whats the City Center travel distance & time by road? How does that compare with Shatabdi & Vande Bharat?

City Downton to downtown takes 6.5-7.5 hrs easily, whereas VB or Shatabdi does it in 4.5-5 hrs. The suburb to suburb on both ends takes 4-4.5 hrs

[anandhsub]

Drove down to Chennai via the expressway-vellore route on Friday.

Total door to door driving time of just 5.5 hours, nearly an hour faster than the last time I drove down via Chittoor in December.

The roads are amazing post the expressway, although single lane, until the last 2-3 kms before it joins the NH at Pallikonda where it becomes a bit narrow with town traffic. Otherwise only spots of traffic through out the highway.

[Secretariat]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

Total door to door driving time of just 5.5 hours, nearly an hour faster than the last time I drove down via Chittoor in December.

The roads are amazing post the expressway,

Second this. This is a serious alternative for those who are going to or from North or East Bangalore. On a whim , I took this route instead of my normal Chittoor route and it was a very pleasant experience and shaved off some 45 minutes from the drive time. The Expressway is in pristine shape now with no traffic and setting cruise control to 119 kmph (yes, rather extravagant in an EV), there was no need to come off it for the entire stretch. Post the expressway the roads are fine all the way to Pallikonda and the town stretches at V Kota and Gudiyatham are nothing compared to the Chittoor or Katpadi crossings we are used to. With Chennasamudram to Kanchipuram having been mostly done barring two diversions, dare I say the Bangalore-Chennai drive is no longer a torture and even a bit enjoyable