[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Is that the total number of service or the number of bus.
If its number of buses then they are nearing SRM in this.
KPN has about 78 multi axles as a info.

Total number of B9R buses. I hear that they have ordered 8 more. Kallada should be crossing their 50 mark before this year end for sure.

[a4anurag]

Hello All!

Had traveled to Chennai on Friday evening by Kesineni's Volvo 9400.

It started from Gachibowli ORR X roads and took the ORR and belted through at a decent speed. With 2 hours in the journey the bus was stopped for around an hour near Devarkonda. To my shock the whole of the front windshield was cracking slowly like a big slab of ice.




The driver and his helper then started breaking every piece of the glass and then we started the journey again. It was like driving a bike without helmet

Did the glass crack because of pressure difference? The temperature of the AC was 22 deg C. It was drizzling slightly outside. What could be the reason for it? Have seen this happen for the first time.

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Hello All!

Had traveled to Chennai on Friday evening by Kesineni's Volvo 9400.

It started from Gachibowli ORR X roads and took the ORR and belted through at a decent speed. With 2 hours in the journey the bus was stopped for around an hour near Devarkonda. To my shock the whole of the front windshield was cracking slowly like a big slab of ice.

The driver and his helper then started breaking every piece of the glass and then we started the journey again. It was like driving a bike without helmet

Did the glass crack because of pressure difference? The temperature of the AC was 22 deg C. It was drizzling slightly outside. What could be the reason for it? Have seen this happen for the first time.

oh my god.... The bus continued the journey without the windshield. how did the driver manage? must have been a scary journey right. What time the bus completed its journey to chennai?

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by shipnil

One thing I observed was the last row (5 seat one) was a simple bench. This means, unlike others, SRS does not sell these seats at market prices.

Thanks for the reviews.

This last row in SRS is a bed for spare driver, separated by curtain. Here is the image I took on Bangalore-Mumbai service.

[TKMCE]

KaSRTC 2130 Chennai Bangalore - B7R (via Chittoor)
*********

A good option for an early arrival. Started sharp on time, bus was one of the newer B7Rs on the fleet (unlike their older ones which they run on Mysore Bangalore Chennai). Every bus was showing seats available on the day of departure, so just went to CMBT and choose my bus and bought the ticket from the conductor! Left sharp on time, well maintained bus, and blankets were very clean. Bus went inside Kancheepuram bus stand where abt 6 people boarded and shortly after around 2315 , stopped for a break at one of the wayside stalls where most TNSTC buses stop. Reached NGEF by 4 10 and Majestic by 4.30. City buses to my locality had already started running so was home by 5 PM. Excellent value - higly recommended.

KPN Travels 1915 Chennai - Kochi - Non AC 2 X 2
===============================

Ages since I travlled last on a KPN Non AC and after this latest experience my family faced, KPN can be rest assured it will be many more ages since any one us will even bother to think about travelling in another one (non AC) of KPN again!!!

Since the fare difference was huge viz a viz Parveen Multi Axle Merc (with whom they had a fantastic experience), some of my family suggested that they go back by Non AC on the return so as to save some money!! I reluctantly agreed and chose what I thought was the lesser of the 3 evils (KPN, Tippu Sultan and PSM ) who are the only 3 Non AC services on this route. KPN was also showing a 7.15 PM departure from Koyambedu with a promised 8 AM arrival while the others left at 7.45 PM and 8 PM


Well bus left by 7.30 PM from the slum which is called Koyamedu Omni Bus Stand (the CMBT where the govt buses go is relatively a better organised one - although absolutely nowhere near like what Shanti Nagar bus station in BLR is ). The waiting area for KPN as for other operators like RathiMeena is a caged in enclosure next to their office with a few chairs, assorted beggars and a dog or two for company!. Two teenaged girls waiting for their bus didnt help things either by opening a full packet of biscuits and feeding the stray dogs ignoring the beggars as well as the sentiments of other people waiting

Bus started at 7. 15 took another 15 min to get out of the usual traffic block and hopefully will arrive at Ernakulam at 12 noon!!! Around 9 PM there was a puncture next to some toll gate and apparently KPN was so efficient that it was 1230 before the bus moved. As per my wifey, the stepney was also worse than the original , they borrowed another from a KPN passing by only to find that the tyre size was diffferent etc etc and what not.. And typical Kerala nature, most fellow passengers mostly from Kerala didnt even seem to be bothered (what is new for a state which after Manipur and Tropura has the highest number of Bandhs and Harthals in the country and where many people actually seem to look forward to the next one??). At 6.30 in the morning, they had only reached Chittode and hopefully should reach Aluva by 12!!! Also the bus is in not in very good condition nor is it well driven . The particular bus also had a sticker saying speed restricted to 90 km/hr.

Most definitely not recommended. Stick to their Volvos if you still feel you have to travel in a KPN!!! But there is no shortage of top class operators in this route like Parveen, SRM etc. SRM also has their own terminal nearby and thus you can avoid the Koyambedu slum like terminal which many others including KPN use.

[TKMCE]

Update on the KPN Trip

The original bus was changed at Coimbatore. Even worse was the new bus. Finally 15 km before Trichur, the second bus ran out of diesel!! Of the people travelling, only 4 including my wife and her friend were traelling beyond Trichur. All of them got a passing by Private bus to Trichur and form there the Ernakulam bound passengers took another KeSRTC bus to their destination!!!

Way to go KPN- why dont you stick to parcel service instead and stop fooling people!!!

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by venki.bala

oh my god.... The bus continued the journey without the windshield. how did the driver manage? must have been a scary journey right. What time the bus completed its journey to chennai?

The journey continued without the windshield. We started off from that village (Devarkonda) at 22:00 and reached Chennai at 08:00am. Was windy and cold. It was Semi-AC

Drivers changed every 2 hours because of the air that was hitting their face. There were 3 of them. One joined later in.

[Mister_M]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

The journey continued without the windshield. We started off from that village (Devarkonda) at 22:00 and reached Chennai at 08:00am. Was windy and cold. It was Semi-AC

Drivers changed every 2 hours because of the air that was hitting their face. There were 3 of them. One joined later in.

I remember an incident which happened slightly similar to this some 10 years back. I was travelling a night-line TNSTC from Salem to Chennai when the wind-shield broke suddenly while the bus was running near Ulundurpet out-skirts.

Driver claimed it must be because of some hard / sharp object should have hit the wind-shield causing the whole frame to break. (one haly of the front wind-shield - in front of the driver was totally down). Luckily he had a control on the bus, causing no further road-accident as such. Waited for some 30 - 40 mins trying out some alternatives, nothing wirked out though.

The 2 drivers decided that they can manage with a spectacle. He borrowed a less-powered spectacle from a passenger, wore it and started driving. We reached safe, travelling Semi-AC like your case. But even now when I think about it, his decision on driving it scares me.

[a4anurag]

It was like driving a bike without an helmet.

I mean its not the right thing to do for a bus operator but he has no choice since it was a Friday night and all his fleet of buses would be occupied to provide a replacement for the continual of that journey.

The driver spoke to Kesineni people at the office but they were out of help so they continued it. Only happy part was it did not rain during the journey else it would have created more problems.

The main danger with such incidents is the glass pieces which are on places where the hand can't reach to clean. At high speeds it any pieces fly in and causes any injury to the driver/passengers it would be sometimes fatal.

[coolclouds]

VRL launched new services:

Chennai-Surat-Chennai
Hyderabad-Surat-Hyderabad
Hyderabad-Manipal-Hyderabad

[venki.bala]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

It was like driving a bike without an helmet.

I mean its not the right thing to do for a bus operator but he has no choice since it was a Friday night and all his fleet of buses would be occupied to provide a replacement for the continual of that journey.

The driver spoke to Kesineni people at the office but they were out of help so they continued it. Only happy part was it did not rain during the journey else it would have created more problems.

The main danger with such incidents is the glass pieces which are on places where the hand can't reach to clean. At high speeds it any pieces fly in and causes any injury to the driver/passengers it would be sometimes fatal.

Did you or other passengers oppose the move to drive without the Windshield? Yes it should have been too dangerous if the glass pieces could have flown in and caused some harm.

[ksakotai]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Hello All!

The driver and his helper then started breaking every piece of the glass and then we started the journey again. It was like driving a bike without helmet

Did the glass crack because of pressure difference? The temperature of the AC was 22 deg C. It was drizzling slightly outside. What could be the reason for it? Have seen this happen for the first time.

I travel from Hyderabad to Bangalore very frequently by volvo. I have traveled multiple times in buses which have cracked windshields, often the result of stones and other particles banging against them during trips. When I asked the driver about this they seemed to be very casual and told me that unless there is a collision the windshield will not break.

In one of the trips with GeePee travels, we had a collision with a truck and the side glass window of my seat cracked so bad that I thought it will give way. I moved to the next aisle and continued. Luckily the glass held.

- Krishnan

[ike]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

VRL launched new services:

Chennai-Surat-Chennai
Hyderabad-Surat-Hyderabad
Hyderabad-Manipal-Hyderabad

So Chennai Surat will replace blr - ahmedabad as the longest route in India ? How long does it take ?

[DWind]

Originally Posted by ike

So Chennai Surat will replace blr - ahmedabad as the longest route in India ? How long does it take ?

I am inclined to think that Chennai-Surat and Hyderabad-Surat is not single service but is a combination of 2 or more connections.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by DWind

I am inclined to think that Chennai-Surat and Hyderabad-Surat is not single service but is a combination of 2 or more connections.

As per VRL website, the fare for Chennai-Surat is Rs. 2200 and the bus goes via Bangalore-Pune-Mumbai. I think its not a connection bus as the distance is ~1600 kms compared Bangalore-Ahmedabad which is around 1500kms and runs on single service