[vigsom]

Introduction

This is a review cum travel experience of my first ride by a Bharat Benz AC Sleeper - Seater bus, built on an OF1824 chassis. The experience was good, but there are a few bits that need to be ironed out.

[vigsom]

Background

Until the Covid shutdown, it was common to see premium services viz. Volvos, Scanias and Mercedes Benz operate on the south bound sector from Chennai (eg. Chennai to Trichy, Madurai, Nagercoil etc.). There were some popular operators like SRM Transports, Madurai Radha Travels, Parveen, Renganathan operating these premium services via Trichy.

Post Covid, many of the premium services disappeared. During a recent search, I found that a lot of new operators have come on the scene, but barring a handful, the rest operate AC Sleeper or AC Sleeper - Seater buses built on Ashok Leyland, Volvo-Eicher or Bharat Benz chassis. One such new operator is Lion Travels, and these posts summarise my travel experience on one of their Bharat Benz buses.

Disclaimer: This is just a review of a travel option and a particular bus; I am in no way associated with this establishment except that I completed my first travel with them, reasonably happy with the service.

Options available to me

I needed to travel to Trichy from Chennai and on the day of my travel, the afternoon Vande Bharat Express was not operating. Other trains were all full, and that made me turn to bus options. Had this been pre-2019, I'd have just chosen an AC seater OR AC Seater-Sleeper service by SETC and made my way, but things have gotten complicated now.

1. All south bound buses now originate and terminate at a brand new bus terminal called KCBT, which is on the GST Road, 30km and approx. 1hr from the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT)
2. SETC's airconditioned services (the white buses) are now at the end of life cycle and the fleet is being revamped; so there is a strong chance that the condition of the white buses would have gone south
3. SETC has dropped their top speed to 75kmph, and gone are the bypass services; that makes the ride from KCBT to Trichy at a minimum of 6hrs 30 mins, which is too much. This is bad considering that I have done Trichy to CMBT or vice versa in 6hrs 30mins to 6hrs 40 mins by SETC until 2018

Examining other options

I examined all options on a popular bus aggregator site, and narrowed down my options to four

1. Nuego Electric
2. SK Balu Travels
3. Renganathan Travels
4. Lion Travels

Option1 was rejected outright in view of uncertainties around their stop time for charging, Option2 was good, but only the last upper berth was available on the 12:30pm service, Option3 was a 3pm departure, while option4 was an earlier 1:45pm departure from CMBT. I chanced upon a youtube short on Lion Travels and was very impressed with what was spoken about the service; decided to give it a shot. Sleeper and seating options were available on this bus, and I took the seater, since this was just an afternoon ride. I was there at the CMBT Private Bus Stand, and lo and behold, the bus was there - looking stunning in yellow!

SK Balu Travels - sample image


Renganathan VECV - sample image


Lion Travels Bharat Benz - the bus allocated for this trip

[vigsom]

Cabin Layout

This bus was a Bharat Benz OF1824 chassis supporting an MG Glider ZY+ body. The seater-sleeper combo is as follows:

1. Left Lower - Six single berths
2. Left Upper - Six single berths
2. Right Lower - Twelve rows of two seats each - recliner type but no ottoman
4. Right Upper - Six rows of double berths

So, a total of 24 seats and 24 berths.

Initial impressions

The inside of the cabin gave me the same feel of what I'd experienced in the KSRTC Ambaari Dream Class back in 2022

Likes

• Classy on the outside
• Rich and easy to maintain upholstery
• Head cushions at each berth to prevent the head from impacting plastic panels when getting up or lying down
• PU moulded side supports; made to last long
• 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 to break glass in an emergency
• Emergency buttons
• Emergency exits – one on the left and one at the rear

Dislikes (about the coach)

• Engine is audible in the front but almost silent after the third row of seats (approx. second row of berths)
• Drinking water not provided (this was offered initially when the bus was inaugurated but then stopped)
• Door separating the cockpit from the passenger cabin opens inwards; a high probability that the front berths passengers' feet could come in the way whenever the door is opened

View of the cabin


Emergency Exit at the rear


Lower berth


Under-seat storage height is better than the Volvo sleeper


The intrusive door - note how the inside opening door can hurt an unsuspecting passenger's toe. I had to warn the passenger twice to keep her toe away from harm's way

[vigsom]

Technical Info on the Bharat Benz OF1824 Chassis (sourced from the Bharat Benz official site)

• Overall length 13200m
• Overall width 2530mm
• Gross Vehicle Weight 18500kg
• Engine OM926
• Max Power 180kW @2200rpm
• Max Torque 850Nm @1200-1600rpm
• Capacity 7200cc, 6cyl, BSVI
• Gear Box G85 OD, 6 speed mechanical, Clutch dia 395mm
• Suspension - Front and Rear Air
• Brakes Dual circuit, full air, S-Cam type drum
• Power Steering adjustable and tilt
• Fuel Tank 380L, AdBlue Tank 60L
• Battery 2x12V, 200Ah
• Six year six lakh km powertrain warranty, Electronic Vehicle Stability Control, Ani-Roll bar in front and rear, ECU controlled 5 stage retarder

Bharat Benz has also written bodybuilding guidelines for the 1824 chassis; this runs to 200 pages.

295/80R22.5 Tyres, seeing Bridgestone on a HCV for the first time

[vigsom]

The ride on board Lion Travels

It was a seesaw ride from CMBT until KCBT; seesaw because of avoidable delays on account of

1. late arrival of passengers at three pick up points viz. Koyambedu Metro Office, Nerkundram and Porur Toll Plaza which resulted in a 30 min delay
2. a 15 minute halt at KCBT which was unnecessary

After that, the journey was free of any hiccups whatsoever. The brief halt at KCBT helped me appreciate the way the new terminal has been set up. I was pleasantly surprised to see the Independence brand packaged drinking water available at the regular MRP. There were vending machines also set up.

At platform 11 meant for private buses


Premises kept neat by a team of housekeepers


View of the concourse leading to various platforms - neatly marked


ATMs, Pharmacies and shops galore

[vigsom]

Route updates and Likes/ Dislikes about the rest stop

+ All diversions on the Villupuram - Trichy sector except at Padalur are completed (from what I noticed during the journey); this has made the ride from Villupuram to Trichy a lot better than when I did this in end-2024
+ Rest stop Meena Mahal short of the Ulundurpet Toll Plaza is just satisfactory - Rating 3/5; snack options are reasonably priced but the loo could be much better
+ rest stop was restricted to just 15 minutes
- Chennai to Villupuram is full of traffic, as always
- Chennai to Villupuram - diversion at Vikravandi is bad

Captured at the rest stop - the bus looks smashing. Please ignore the grammar in the punchline

[vigsom]

The ride on board Lion Travels (Contd.)

After the tea break, I managed to steal some forward snaps from behind the door. The engine had a good note, unlike the hoarse note of an Eicher 6016, but the transmission was a tad rough. In any case, seats behind row#4 and berths in the second row and behind are the ones to be in to experience a silent ride.

View of the dash - some warning lights on but the engine was purring alright


Forward Views from inside the passenger cabin in daylight




After sunset




The bus was doing 85kmph at 1500rpm; this 8 month old bus had 1,49,000km on the odo


View of the bus in the night




Summing it up

I was in my destination in a shade under 7 hours, delayed largely by passengers reporting late at their pick up points and many drop offs at unscheduled stops. However, the convenience of boarding at CMBT, and a comfortable cool ride more than made up for the lost time. This is a good service, but I'd love to see buses being allowed to touch 90kmph against the current cap of 85kmph in TN. Six hours point to point from Chennai to Trichy is the way to go.

[Aditya]

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

[Mr.Bentley]

Nice and crisp review, as usual!

I miss the seater volvo/scania/benz buses after Covid. I used travel between Hyderabad to Chennai almost fortnightly for a year. After covid, all the options left were the sleeper buses and occasional Seater-sleeper buses, even TSRTC has discontinued Volvo and installed a MG coach Sleeper bus. I somehow cannot enjoy sleeper buses. I prefer sitting even if it is for 12 hours.

Notable observation is Seats in a Seater-sleeper bus are very very comfortable. Although we miss luggage room, the seats are usually supple and wide (a 2 seat - 1 berth layout gives a lot more room than 2+2 seats layout). The ride comfort is not comparable to a volvo, but the seats make it up to them!

[Matrix_Maya]

Originally Posted by Mr.Bentley

Nice and crisp review, as usual!

I miss the seater volvo/scania/benz buses after Covid. I used travel between Hyderabad to Chennai almost fortnightly for a year. After covid, all the options left were the sleeper buses and occasional Seater-sleeper buses, even TSRTC has discontinued Volvo and installed a MG coach Sleeper bus.

Bus operators found that they can charge premium amount in Non Premium buses without any objection from commuters ! So why keep costly buses like volvo/ Scania/Mercedes Benz !

[Chillout]

One issue that I find with all these buses is the annoying sound of the air conditioners , especially in the 3rd and 4th row berths, not sure if others have observed the same.

[drift87]

Any 6fters in here? Not able to make peace with myself when it comes to traveling in sleeper buses in India. The back support cushions make it even worse!

[RGK]

Originally Posted by vigsom

The ride on board Lion Travels (Contd.)

Nowadays, some of these travels (Eg: Jubiletravels - CBE to BLR) make multiple trips each day whenever possible, especially on weekends, during vacation periods, and during the holiday season. This saves toll charges (within 24 hours) and reduces drivers' daily bata charges.

But, in this case, this guy has done only two trips every day (~600km), totaling 1.49L during an 8-month period.

Originally Posted by drift87

Any 6fters in here?

Yes it is a nightmare and am one of the victims

[Chillout]

Originally Posted by drift87

Any 6fters in her...!

I agree, am 5.8 and find it difficult myself at times and can only imagine how difficult it would be for you.

[skb1811]

Originally Posted by drift87

Any 6fters in here? Not able to make peace with myself when it comes to traveling in sleeper buses in India. The back support cushions make it even worse!

Yeah, 6.6 here, did a Mangalore to Pune trip in the ambaari sleeper (multi axle volvo), could feel the air suspension rumbling under me, as well as the ac intake vent on the inside. (Middle rear side of the bus, upper berth)