[Aniket Verma]

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Have an upcoming trip from Chandigarh to Varanasi.

Went through the last few pages and am a bit confused for which route to take post Lucknow.

Should I take:

1. Lucknow - Sultanpur - Jaunpur - Varanasi
2. Lucknow - Azamgarh - Varanasi

Also, i'll be making a pitstop at Agra. How much time does Agra - Varanasi take, 8 hours?

Another excellent option will be Agra - ALE (Take Etawah exit)- Etawah - Kanpur - Allahabd Bypass - Varansi (Either Raja Talab or Kandwa exit, depending on your destination).

Pros:

- NH / Expressway for complete route
- Better amenities for break & fuel
- All major cities have flypast bridge (Etawah & Kanpur) or bypass (Allahabad)
- Shorter by 40 Km

Cons:

- Some flyover work happening around Fatehpur (Diversions are well marked and easily manageable)

This will save you from Lucknow's traffic and will be much faster.

[Samba]

Did a Kolkata-Greater Noida run in May.

Update-

Day 1

Started from Azadhind dhaba on Nh2 (Gopalpur) at 7-30 pm. We reached Asansol by 9-30 pm and had our dinner.
Started from Asansol at 11 pm.

Few kilometer after Dhanbad till Topchachi the road is 6 lane and well lit.
Post Topchachi diversions are present till Barhi due to road construction work going on.

We crossed Aurangabad by 4-30 am in the morning and reached Mohania by 5-30 am. Took a small break and refueled our cars as we knew there wont be any filling station at the Purvanchal expressway and we were not sure about the petrol bunks between Mohania to Ghazipur.

We resumed our journey at 6 am. Took right after 10 km from Mohania at a place called Durganti.

From here it's a single lane road with town traffic till we hit the Purvanchal expressway. This 70 km stretch via Ghazipur took us 1 hr 50 mins.

We reached Purvanchal toll at 7-50 am. Took a small break and from here till Lucknow it was a breeze. Reached our hotel in Gomtinagar by 11-30 am.

At the starting of Purvanchal expressway





The whole stretch took us approximately 16 hours 30 mins from Dankuni to Lucknow with adequate breaks.

Day 2

I have nothing new to write about this stretch. From Gomtinagar it took us 30 mins to reach the Agra -Lucknow expressway. From there we connected to Yamuna expressway and reached Noida. This 500 km took us 6 hours 30 mins with a couple of breaks.

At Agra Lucknow Expressway



Entering Yamuna expressway



The return leg

While returning, I skipped coming via Delhi. Came straight to Lucknow via Pilibhit. Coming from Uttarakhand, this route was shorter than coming via Delhi.

Lucknow - Kolkata update-

Started from Gomtinagar, Lucknow at 10 am. We reached the Purvanchal toll by 10-47 am.

At Purvanchal expressway



This time it took me 2.5 hours to cover the whole Purvanchal expressway and we reached Ghazipur by 1-40 pm and crossed Mohania by 3 pm.

There was a congestion at the Jharkhand - Bengal border. So I took the wrong side just after crossing the Nirsa toll and crossed the border in a jiffy.

Reached Asansol by 9-15 pm and had our dinner. This 800 km took us 11 hours 15 mins.

Started from Asanol by 10-30 pm and reached my home at 1-45 am. The return leg from Lucknow took us 15 hours 45 mins. Odo reads 1002 km.

Few pointers -

Kolkata - Lucknow is approximately 1000 km, Lucknow to Greater Noida is approximately 500 km.

Kolkata to Lucknow can take somewhere between 15-17 hours and Lucknow to Greater Noida between 6-7 hours.

A rough breakup of the timings with breaks -
Kolkata to Mohania- 10 hours
Mohania to Purvanchal expressway - 2 hours
Covering the Purvanchal Expressway till Lucknow- 3 hours
Crossing Lucknow- 1 hour
Lucknow to Greater Noida- 6.5 hours

Kolkata to Greater Noida can be covered in-between 21-24 hours depending on the speed and number of breaks.

There are no fuel stations operational along the Purvanchal expressway.

Speeds cams at Purvanchal expressway were not installed till May end.

Purvanchal expressway has got operational neat and clean washrooms after certain intervals.

Restaurants are yet to open on the way towards Lucknow, but while coming towards Ghazipur, one restaurant is operational.

Staying at Gomitnagar is always a good option in Lucknow. This place is less congested and the connectivity to the major highways are smooth.

All the Reliance petrol bunks are shut.

Petrol Bunks and restaurants with clean washrooms are available on both Agra - Lucknow expressway and Yamuna Expressway.

Toll deducted for Kolkata - Greater Noida was roughly 3.5k.

[Antaheen]

Hello Everyone !!

I am planning Kolkata - New Delhi - Kolkata route next week.

Can someone guide me regarding availability of COCO Pumps en-route. I always fill up from COCO BP Alipore.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by Samba

We resumed our journey at 6 am. Took right after 10 km from Mohania at a place called Durganti.

From here it's a single lane road with town traffic till we hit the Purvanchal expressway. This 70 km stretch via Ghazipur took us 1 hr 50 mins.

How is the condition of the road from Mohania/Durganti to Poorvanchal Expressway? Is it congested?

I hope there is an 85 km connection from Sasaram to the starting of the Poorvanchal Expressway, via Kochas. There is no update about the condition of the road though. This should be actually the most logical link.

Yesterday, I drove up to Sarnath from Lucknow and back. I took the Poorvanchal Expressway and exited onto the Sultanpur - Ayodhya NH. There is a 15 kms connection to NH 731 bypassing Sultanpur altogether, and then up to Varanasi ring road, the four/six laning work is complete (minus three small 2 kms stretch each). Jaunpur has a good bypass.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

How is the condition of the road from Mohania/Durganti to Poorvanchal Expressway? Is it congested?

I hope there is an 85 km connection from Sasaram to the starting of the Poorvanchal Expressway, via Kochas. There is no update about the condition of the road though. This should be actually the most logical link.

The Ghazipur section isn't congested, but you cannot build speeds since it goes via lots of establishments. In the last 20 km or so, you'll find increased density of potholes and broken roads. Including a fuel stop, it took me approximately 2 hours. Another point is, most of the PSU bunks don't accept cards. There is a Nayara pump from where we refueled before getting on the Purvanchal Eway.

I did the Kochas section in December 2020 and it wasn't great back then. Had lots of broken sections and pathetic roads. Not sure how it's now.

[Antaheen]

I completed road trip Kolkata-Lucknow-Agra-New Delhi-Varanasi-Kolkata.

On 19.07.2022, I left Kolkata at 11PM and reached Lucknow at 7PM next day and stayed at Ginger Hotel Lucknow. On 21.07.2022, I left Lucknow at 8:00AM and reached New Delhi at 8:00PM after paying a visit to Taj Mahal enroute. On 23.07.2022, I left New Delhi at 10:30AM and reached Hotel Ramada, Kateshwar, Varanasi at 11:30PM. On 24.07.2022, I left Varanasi at 12 Noon and reached Kolkata at 3AM.

Since, I didn't get any help, from BPCL, HPCL or INDIAN OIL Companies Helpline, I myself took the imitative to find out COCO Pumps, by keeping an eye while driving with partial help from Google Maps.

I am summarizing COCO Pumps from where I refueled en route.

KOLKATA TO DELHI:
BP GOPALPUR & GHAR DHABA: 37.8 kms from DANKUNI TOLL PLAZA
BP BAGAHI KUMAPUR & GHAR DHABA: 22.6 kms from MOHANIA TOLL PLAZA
INDIAN OIL PETROL PUMP GOMTINAGAR: Vibhuti Khand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow,

IN NEW DELHI:
BP GREENPARK: Sri Aurobindo Marg, Block A, Green Park Extension, Green Park, New Delhi, 110017

DELHI TO KOLKATA:
INDIAN OIL COCO PUMP: Agra Lucknow Expressway 101KM
BP COCO VRINDABAN: Vrindavan Colony sec-6, 226029, Lucknow
HPCL COMCO PURVANCHAL: Purvanchal Expressway 10km prior to Sultanpur Exit
BP DOBHI: Dobhi,NH-2,GAYA, Bihar 824201
BP RAMCHANDRAPUR & GHAR DHABA: Dhanbad

I hope, my post will be of help for those who prefer COCO Pumps.

Thank You

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Antaheen

I completed road trip Kolkata-Lucknow-Agra-New Delhi-Varanasi-Kolkata.

On 23.07.2022, I left New Delhi at 10:30AM and reached Hotel Ramada, Kateshwar, Varanasi at 11:30PM.

Just inquisitive, which route did you take? Am asking because I too stopped at Benaras on my way from Delhi to Kolkata on 31st March this year. I took the Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Purvanchal Expressway-Sultanganj-Jaunpur route. Took me around twelve hours, I guess.
Also, did you see any speed cameras installed on the Purvanchal Expressway?

[Antaheen]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Just inquisitive, which route did you take? Am asking because I too stopped at Benaras on my way from Delhi to Kolkata on 31st March this year. I took the Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Purvanchal Expressway-Sultanganj-Jaunpur route. Took me around twelve hours, I guess.
Also, did you see any speed cameras installed on the Purvanchal Expressway?

I took the same route, as you have mentioned. From New Delhi - Yamuna Expressway - Agra Lucknow Expressway - Purvanchal Expressway - Sultanpur Exit - Jaunpur - Varanasi - Kolkata.

No speed cameras has been installed at Purvanchal Expressway !!

Thank You

[Jude300]

Originally Posted by Antaheen

I completed road trip Kolkata-Lucknow-Agra-New Delhi-Varanasi-Kolkata.

I hope, my post will be of help for those who prefer COCO Pumps.

Thank You

Very informative post. Just one quick question. How is the condition of the roads between Delhi - Kolkata? Any inputs would greatly help as my friend plans to drive the Golden quadrilateral Next month and is in sure of this route.

[Antaheen]

Well to tell you frankly:

Kolkata To Dhanbad: I maintained 70-90km/hr. It was monsoon so, there were occasional potholes and they come all of a sudden. Hence, the driver needs full concentration. After crossing Panagarh, look out for some road bumpers till Asansol. These road bumps were created during road construction/diversions but were not removed.

Dhanbad to Topchanchi : I maintained 130km/hr. Roads are butter smooth.

Somewhere beyond Topchanchi, i don't remember the place name, road constructions are going on and there are diversions and bad roads. I maintained speed between 40km/hr to 60km/hr.

After crossing Gaya, you will get good roads till Mohania Toll Plaza. I maintained 60-70km/hr.

Mohania Toll Plaza to Varanasi: I maintained 50-50km/hr due to numerous diversions and bumps.

Varanasi to Lucknow: I was guided by Highway Patrol to take Varanasi Ring Road to Lucknow instead of Purvanchal Expressway. My Google Map also failed to take me to road connecting to Purvanchal Expressway from Mohania Toll Plaza. Ring Road is incomplete and plenty of detours. Ultimately, i was connected to Purvanchal Expressway from someplace near Ayodhya.

Purvanchal Expressway: I maintained 120 km/hr. No speed cameras installed. Inside the city of Lucknow, the roads are good too. But heavy traffic. Particularly 2 wheelers.

Lucknow To New Delhi: Lucknow Agra Expressway followed by Yamuna Expressway is driver's delight. I maintained good speeds

I hope, my post will be of help.

PS:My Car is Grand i10 Nios Sportz.

Thank You

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by Antaheen

Varanasi to Lucknow: I was guided by Highway Patrol to take Varanasi Ring Road to Lucknow instead of Purvanchal Expressway. My Google Map also failed to take me to road connecting to Purvanchal Expressway from Mohania Toll Plaza. Ring Road is incomplete and plenty of detours. Ultimately, i was connected to Purvanchal Expressway from someplace near Ayodhya.

Lucknow To New Delhi: Lucknow Agra Expressway followed by Yamuna Expressway is driver's delight. I maintained 150-160km/hr. Only slowed down at Toll Plaza or after spotting Overhead Speed Cameras.

I hope, my post will be of help.

PS:My Car is Grand i10 Nios Sportz.
Thank You

Actually one can take the Varanasi Ring Road from NH 2 in this way. Take the Ramnagar Road to the old Kashi Bridge and enter Ring Road via Sarnath. Once you catch the RR, it is smooth four lane all the way till Sultanpur (with just two short diversions). You have decent places to eat when you are closer to Sultanpur. Before Sultanpur, take the Ayodhya diversion. About 20 kms, before Kurebhar, you can enter the Purvanchal Eway. It is still about 45 kms before Ayodhya.

In this way, you will avoid going through Sultanpur town. The work on the bypass, NH 56, is not yet complete.

[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by Samba

A rough breakup of the timings with breaks -
Kolkata to Mohania- 10 hours
Mohania to Purvanchal expressway - 2 hours
Covering the Purvanchal Expressway till Lucknow- 3 hours

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

I hope there is an 85 km connection from Sasaram to the starting of the Poorvanchal Expressway, via Kochas. There is no update about the condition of the road though. This should be actually the most logical link.

Folks, I would need your help.

I have a drive to Lucknow coming up soon. So, I was checking the routes from Kolkata using Team-BHP and Google maps.

I see both Samba has gone thru to Mohania before taking the Purvanchal expressway.

Now, Google Maps suggesting me to take a right from Aurangabad and that will connect me to the Purvanchal expressway. I think this is what Vipin mentioned too.

Do you suggest taking the route planned by GMaps? Do you have any info about the road conditions?
I will be driving at night and would love to have some info before I take this route to the Purvanchal expressway. Else I would rather stick to the tried and tested route that Samba has mentioned.

I have attached a screenshot of the map and the direct link.
Kindly suggest, thanks.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by 7000plusrpm

Do you suggest taking the route planned by GMaps? Do you have any info about the road conditions?
I will be driving at night and would love to have some info before I take this route to the Purvanchal expressway. Else I would rather stick to the tried and tested route that Samba has mentioned.

I've been through this route last year, till Buxar/Dumraon. Post Daudnagar, it was literally hell. Lots of unruly traffic, narrow one lane roads where everyone was just being selfish causing lots of jams. Strictly avoid this route during day. For 100 odd kilometers post Daudnagar, it takes usually 3-4 hours to reach just Buxar, so you can imagine the condition.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by 7000plusrpm

I have a drive to Lucknow coming up soon. So, I was checking the routes from Kolkata using Team-BHP and Google maps.

I see both Samba has gone thru to Mohania before taking the Purvanchal expressway.

Now, Google Maps suggesting me to take a right from Aurangabad and that will connect me to the Purvanchal expressway. I think this is what Vipin mentioned too.

Do you suggest taking the route planned by GMaps? Do you have any info about the road conditions?
I will be driving at night and would love to have some info before I take this route to the Purvanchal expressway. Else I would rather stick to the tried and tested route that Samba has mentioned.

The one that I had suggested takes diversion from NH 2 at Sasaram and then goes to Purvanchal Expressway via Kochas. The one you showed in the maps goes via Buxar.

I heard both are not advisable these days. Even the Mohania one is tiresome and time consuming.

If you are driving here in the night and with family, better stick to NH till Varanasi and then take the Jaunpur - Sultanpur bypass - Kurebhar - Purvanchal Expressway route. It is a safe option barring entering Varanasi Ring Road.

[7000plusrpm]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Strictly avoid this route during day.

Originally Posted by Vipin Kumar

If you are driving here in the night and with family, better stick to NH till Varanasi and then take the Jaunpur - Sultanpur bypass - Kurebhar - Purvanchal Expressway route. It is a safe option barring entering Varanasi Ring Road.

Thank you for your response folks.

I will be starting from Kolkata around 8PM. So, I hope to be around Aurabngabad / Sasaram in the morning around 8 AM, depending on the traffic.

At this hour, shall I continue on the NH till Varanasi or take right from Mohania to connect to the Purvanchal expressway?