[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by sayakc

While driving to North Bengal I find that SH7 and Bengal to Bengal sections gives me some kind of a headache and I get under pressure of crossing these sections as soon as possible. The "calmness" of driving on a 4 lane highway is overtaken by the "pressure" thing when driving on the 2lane/1lane sections.

Originally Posted by bong_voyager

Came across a Youtube video. Looks like girder erection is complete

After Dalkhola Railway Over Bridge, the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle, also known as the Kolkata - Siliguri route, has now fallen in its place!

While the construction of 6-laned greenfield elevated connector between Kalyani Expressway and Belgharia Expressway had started last year, many illegal shops needed to be removed for completion of the connector. In the last few days, entire right-of-way for the connector has been cleared up [1]. With this last bit in its place, the dream Kolkata - Siliguri 4-laned highway connection is finally on the horizon!

In fact, for the first time in history, all consecutive sections (Kolkata - Kalyani Expressway - Barajaguli - NH12 - Dalkhola - NH27 - Siliguri) between these two cities are either already 4-laned or undergoing 4-laning work at present, with all of them being scheduled to be completed by 2023 or before.

[1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/84510892.cms

[Samratrek]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Please avoid this route if you guys can.

I think, I have said this earlier too.

Issue is, nowadays, there is a huge congestion in Dalkola and one is forced to take this route. I take this route only at night, in a SUV and with only males onboard.

If you have to take this route, do so very cautiously and do not speed, there are too many uneducated cyclists, cattles etc on the road, one small nudge and they are upon you.

I had been driving in North Western side of Bihar(East Champaran, Muzaffarpur, Patna) since last 10 years but nothing like this has happened & it is nothing to do with the driving pattern as well.
Their modus operandi is one team member checks about car number plates mostly local number plates are not targeted (mine was UP), checks whether solo or not & once he understands that this is a soft target he informs his other team members who are a bit ahead to somehow stop the vehicle under any pretext.
After some google & also a chat with old school friend who happens to be a senior cop, I came to know that this pocket of Kishanganj is a manufacturing ground for criminals who are regularly involved in robberies in North Bengal (Siliguri),highway mugging & petrol pump looting in Bihar & also dacoities in Nepal, there had been 4/5 same incidents in the same area in the last 2 years as well.
This will continue to happen unless we have strong leadership to take on such mass miscreants as seen in some of our adjoining states such criminal pockets have been wiped of the map which just 7/8 years ago existed example Azamgarh & Kokrajhar.
Regards

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Samratrek

Dear BHPians
I would like to apprise you of an attempted robbery that was tried on me while my return from Siliguri to Raxaul.
Jokihat is around 30kms after Araria if you are coming from Darbhanga side & going towards northeast. After Jokihat comes Thakurganj & Bahadurganj & then you enter West Bengal.

I took this route at the afternoon hours of November 6 last year. After crossing Purnia I had to reach a place possibly called zero mile at Araria, where I took a sharp right turn, going towards Bahadurganj & Thakurganj to reach Siliguri. Though evening was setting in, there was some election going on in Bihar those days. There was heavy police presence on road and we could reach our destination safely.

[sumannandy]

Recently I have gone to Siliguri through SH7/NH 12 and came back through NH 12 throughout (through Krishnanagar).

While going it took us about 14.5 hours with break and lunch, breakfast etc. While coming back I was alone, with minimum break I was back to Kolkata in 9 hours 45 minutes (started from Mainak hotel in Siliguri a little after 5 am, was in Barasat by 2.45 pm.

For coming back, if you are driving with a consistent speed, please come back through Siliguri - Dalkhola - Raigunj - Baharampur - Krishnanagar - Krishnanagar bypass - Kolkata. From Siliguri to Krishnanagar it is four lane, except a few stretches. Krishnanagar bypass road is in good condition, but after you join back NH 12, from there till Barasat road is completely broken. No benefit in taking Dhantola - Botolbari route. Strongly recommend starting from Siliguri early morning so that you are back to Kolkata for a late lunch.

For going to Siliguri, better to start early morning, take SH7 to Moregram, then Raigunj - Dalkhola bypass - Siliguri. SH7 is two lanes and is broken in between. Dalkhola bypass is under construction, but except one mud stretch, it is doable by any car.

I was using Wagon R for the trip.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

From Siliguri to Krishnanagar it is four lane, except a few stretches. Krishnanagar bypass road is in good condition, but after you join back NH 12, from there till Barasat road is completely broken.

Thanks for the update. Indeed, Krishnanagar - Barajaguli - Barasat stretch of NH12 is in royal mess at the moment with the ongoing construction and heavy rain from last few weeks. It was good to decent just before the monsoon.

Yesterday, I drove to Malda (in fact for the second time in last 2 weeks). To avoid the stretch between Barajaguli and Krishnanagar, I tried recently upgraded SH-6 (STKK Road) via Tribeni, Kalna and SH-8 between Nabadwip and Krishnanagar. The surface was very good throughout. In fact, at the moment, following combinations between Kolkata airport and Morgram has the best road surface and the least amount of 2-laned sections (~100 km out of ~250 km).

Kolkata - Belgharia Expy - Dankuni - SH13 (old Delhi Road, now 4-laned) - Mogra - Tribeni - SH6 - Nabadwip - SH8 - Krishnanagar - NH12 - Morgram

SH13 / SH6 / SH8 combination between Kolkata and Krishnanagar:

[brownianmotion]

Originally Posted by gmhossain

The surface was very good throughout. In fact, at the moment, following combinations between Kolkata airport and Morgram has the best road surface and the least amount of 2-laned sections (~100 km out of ~250 km).

Kolkata - Belgharia Expy - Dankuni - SH13 (old Delhi Road, now 4-laned) - Mogra - Tribeni - SH6 - Nabadwip - SH8 - Krishnanagar - NH12 - Morgram

SH13 / SH6 / SH8 combination between Kolkata and Krishnanagar:
Attachment 2182160

Thanks a lot Golam for the update. How is the traffic load on this route at night ? Will it be be ok if I take this route at night while going to Siliguri (as opposed to my traditional SH7 route through Burdwan) i.e. say reaching Dankuni at 10 PM.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by brownianmotion

Thanks a lot Golam for the update. How is the traffic load on this route at night ? Will it be be ok if I take this route at night while going to Siliguri (as opposed to my traditional SH7 route through Burdwan) i.e. say reaching Dankuni at 10 PM.

I am not really sure but I guess, the night traffic would be light. The SH-6 nevertheless runs through the very old towns of Bengal (in fact, most of them were historically important river ports: Saptagram, Tribeni, Kuntighat, Samudragarh ...). So safety wise, it should be of similar status like SH-7 (aka Badshahi Sadak).

You would encounter speed bumps as expected. Basically, you would pass through combination of following kinds of landscapes:

SH-6 (STKK Road), July 2021


SH-6 (STKK Road)

[Sheel]

Drove to parts of Birbhum via Bhagalpur. Bhagalpur onwards till JH border, it is very tiring / frustrating to drive with so much local traffic out on the road. Though both times, we were on this part at around ~16:00 hrs, hence, traffic was dense.

Really wanted to explore the Dalkola route, but uncertainty between Raiganj to Dalkola made us skip it. Maybe, will try it next time.

[arjab]

Quick update:
Close friend came in from Kurseong last night.
He had taken the SH-7 route. He and his family was in an Ertiga.
Said 34kms of road between Kuli and Futishanko is liberally peppered with potholes of all shapes and sizes. Shoulders have also been chipped away by the recent rains hence its difficult to overtake by dropping two wheels off the ground. Rest of the route is okay.
Have suggested to him Golam-da's route,(SH-6), route which he is willing to try out on his return leg.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by arjab

Said 34kms of road between Kuli and Futishanko is liberally peppered with potholes of all shapes and sizes. Shoulders have also been chipped away by the recent rains hence its difficult to overtake by dropping two wheels off the ground.

Frankly, I haven't seen some stretches of both SH-7 and NH-12 are in such a terrible shape in last several years. Maybe, almost no maintenance work during the lockdown led these non-tolled stretches to become horrible. Ironically, I have never seen such a beautiful look of NH-12 and that too in the same drive.

NH-12 (old NH-34) near Ahiron, straight from dashcam (July 2021)

Originally Posted by Sheel

Really wanted to explore the Dalkola route, but uncertainty between Raiganj to Dalkola made us skip it. Maybe, will try it next time.

I guess, you may have to wait for at least few more months. The reinforcement work for completion of the missing portion at the Dalkhola Railway Over Bridge (ROB) has now began. It seems to me that in another 3-4 months, one carriageway of the Dalkhola ROB could be made operational for traffic movement.

Here is a snapshot from a youtube video:

Ongoing work at Dalkhola ROB in Aug 2021


Here is the full video:

https://youtu.be/evLqPW_Mmc4

:

[archbishopofbhp]

Seeing as the road situation is improving at a satisfying pace, what route should be the best to take from Kolkata to Siliguri?
My main goal is to avoid narrow roads/shortcuts during odd hours of the day or rather avoid shortcuts entirely.
Which route would be the best road quality wise (while also not compromising on travel time)?
Also does anyone know about any nice and clean dhabas along the route?

[arjab]

Originally Posted by archbishopofbhp

Seeing as the road situation is improving at a satisfying pace, what route should be the best to take from Kolkata to Siliguri?
My main goal is to avoid narrow roads/shortcuts during odd hours of the day or rather avoid shortcuts entirely.
Which route would be the best road quality wise (while also not compromising on travel time)?
Also does anyone know about any nice and clean dhabas along the route?

If your travel plans are imminent, then your best bet would be to reach Siliguri from Kolkata via Burdwan/SH-7 route.
34kms of this route, between Kuli and Futishankho, are potholed, irritating but manageable.
Another option, recently explored and excellently detailed by our fellow Bhp-i'an, Golam, ( T-Bhp handle:gmhossain),
is the STKK road which will connect you to Krishnanagar, from where you join NH-12 and carry on towards SLG.

14 kms after Raigunj, check GMaps, for traffic congestion status, and take a call whether you want to take the Dalkhola route or you want to travel via the Botolbari-Dhantola road. These roads are well surfaced but narrow, passes through villages and congested at certain points.

Food options along the Burdwan - SH7 route are:
1. Hotel Highway Mirchi (veg only) on Durgapur Expressway
2. Hotel Hindustan Dhaba at Gurap on Durgapur Expressway
3. Numerous eateries at Shaktigarh, before Burdwan
4. Charnock City on Burdwan Bypass. It will be on your left just after Beekay Maruti Burdwan showroom
5. Hotel Kichhukkhon on SH-7. Nothing fancy, but neat and clean and serves simple , fresh food.
6. Moregram Bharat Petroleum pump dhaba. It's ok. Looks ramshackle nowadays and food is okay.
7. Hotel Golden Park at Malda ( it's right on the highway)
8. Pardesi Dhaba at Malda. ( This is after Golden Park on your left when you are proceeding to SLG)
9. 41kms before SLG there's a company owned Bharat Petroleum pump with an excellent "Aapna Ghar" dhaba. I completely forget the name of the spot

Whichever way you go it'll take you anywhere between 12-14 hours to reach SLG from Kolkata, (excluding potential Dalkhola jam!).

Drive safe!

P.S: Forgot to mention "Bagan Baari Biriyani" restaurant before Kuli. Mostly biriyani, but good stuff!

[ABHI_1512]

Just returned few days back from the hills and at present the best bet for Calcutta- Siliguri is through the following route:

Kolkata- Dankuni- Gurap- Boinchi- Kalna- Nabadwip Ghat- Krishnagar- Moregram- Raigunj- Domohona- Dhantola- Islampur- Siliguri. This route is good through out sans few stretches between Beldanga and Bahrampur. SH 6 is in a great condition surface wise and is a delight to drive.

Botolbaari and SH 7 between Futishanko and Kuli is in a royal mess and should be avoided till the monsoons are over. Domohona- Rudel- Goagaon- Dhantola is good all through except one small broken bridge which is under repair just before reaching Rudel from Domohona side.

Using the above route, I have been able to do the Calcutta- Siliguri part inside 11 hours both ways and that includes taking the usual food breaks as well. The route is good through the night as well as the day. Although, if travelling through the day, doing the SH 6 part during early morning will help in avoiding local traffic.

[archbishopofbhp]

@arjab Thank you for such a highly detailed list of highway dhabas. This was something I was always looking for since the north Bengal route is something I'm least familiar with and having such landmarks in mind will help a lot. As for the route, I will give Golam sir's route on the way to Siliguri and I will update my findings. Hopefully Dalkhola jam will be negligible and the trip gets over in under 15 hours.

[gmhossain]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Just returned few days back from the hills ...

Thank you Abhi for a detailed update.

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Kolkata- Dankuni- Gurap- Boinchi- Kalna- Nabadwip Ghat- Krishnagar- Moregram- Raigunj- Domohona- Dhantola- Islampur- Siliguri.

I am wondering, how was the road surface of the stretch, Gurap- Boinchi- Kalna? Also I am bit curious: was there any specific thought for not taking Dankuni - Mogra - Kalna stretch? This stretch would be slightly shorter, has almost same length of 4-laned road, compared to the stretch via Gurap. Moreover, you would be able to skip Dankuni toll plaza, thus saving both time and resource (at least for now)!

Frankly, It is amusing to see that even now Kolkata - Siliguri route continues to be dependent on "time of the day", "time of the year". Nevertheless, the end-games of uncertainties along this route are in sight!

A snap of Dalkhola ROB by BR Vlog in Aug 2021 (Would you believe: it is in making since 2006?)


Here is the related full video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RvC1udzwBE