[Eddy]

Update:

I did Dwarka (New Delhi) - Agra on the weekend via the Taj Expressway. As others have mentioned it is a lovely drive, though it can get a little boring if all other passengers are asleep.

I had breakfast at the first food plaza which was pretty decent.

And for the first time in my life, I used the cruise control for a length of time. Set the cc to 100 (which is the speed limit) and had to break out of cc mode only for the three toll plazas - the highway is that big and dare I say, underutilized currently.

And given the fact that it is completely deserted and in UP, I will not risk a night drive on it just yet.

[sinharishi]

Did Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi over the weekend. Both sides the travel time was 6 hrs, with 30mins break.

UPEDIA has introduced its new fleet comprising of Ambulance, Baleros and Isuzu D-Max for the ALE.

The emergency air strip now has a divider now made of concrete barriers unlike before.

[divyanshudas]

Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Gorakhpur-Madhubani. I follow this route while going to my hometown in madhubani, Bihar. 5-6 times now in last couple of years. I travelled on ALE on 3rd november.

Agra Lucknow Expressway is not fastag enabled. There was a fastag board earlier when I travelled the same route in June. That board has now been covered with some cloth. I don't think it is going to be fastag enabled anytime soon.
In the initial days this expressway used to have UP100 vehicles every 50-60 kms when there was no toll, this time there wasn't any.

There are two eating options at a gap of 100kms. Toilets are quite good. Well maintained too. Food is not great but still very cheap and decent. You will find cold drinks, sometimes ice cream too. There is no shade in parking area, so expect the car to get super hot.

Fuel pumps are there on both the stops. So, fuel is no longer a problem. I prefer filling on the stop closer to Lucknow side which is a reliance fuel pump.
Exit lanes are very well marked. Avoid night driving unless you are in a motorcade.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by divyanshudas

Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Gorakhpur-Madhubani. I follow this route while going to my hometown in madhubani, Bihar. 5-6 times now in last couple of years. I travelled on ALE on 3rd november.

Agra Lucknow Expressway is not fastag enabled. There was a fastag board earlier when I travelled the same route in June. That board has now been covered with some cloth. I don't think it is going to be fastag enabled anytime soon.
In the initial days this expressway used to have UP100 vehicles every 50-60 kms when there was no toll, this time there wasn't any.

There are two eating options at a gap of 100kms. Toilets are quite good. Well maintained too. Food is not great but still very cheap and decent. You will find cold drinks, sometimes ice cream too. There is no shade in parking area, so expect the car to get super hot.

Fuel pumps are there on both the stops. So, fuel is no longer a problem. I prefer filling on the stop closer to Lucknow side which is a reliance fuel pump.
Exit lanes are very well marked. Avoid night driving unless you are in a motorcade.

Thanks for the update. I am waiting for a decent access from Kanpur. Right now it takes an hour minimum. So we are using the normal GT Road (NH2/AH1 or whatever you call it) to Jaswantnagar, and then turn onto the ALE (through the link road). I am happy that food, and fuel (fuel for the driver and car!) is available.

[forcooler]

Originally Posted by divyanshudas

Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Gorakhpur-Madhubani. I follow this route while going to my hometown in madhubani, Bihar. 5-6 times now in last couple of years. I travelled on ALE on 3rd november.

Agra Lucknow Expressway is not fastag enabled. There was a fastag board earlier when I travelled the same route in June. That board has now been covered with some cloth. I don't think it is going to be fastag enabled anytime soon.
In the initial days this expressway used to have UP100 vehicles every 50-60 kms when there was no toll, this time there wasn't any.

There are two eating options at a gap of 100kms. Toilets are quite good. Well maintained too. Food is not great but still very cheap and decent. You will find cold drinks, sometimes ice cream too. There is no shade in parking area, so expect the car to get super hot.

Fuel pumps are there on both the stops. So, fuel is no longer a problem. I prefer filling on the stop closer to Lucknow side which is a reliance fuel pump.
Exit lanes are very well marked. Avoid night driving unless you are in a motorcade.

Hi Nitesh,

I was searching the forums and noticed that you're from Madhubani. Since I'm technically new to the forum, I am unable to PM you.

I'm planning a trip to Nepal(from Hyderabad). I plan to ride from Hyderabad-Nagpur-Jhansi-Lucknow-Gorkahpur-Muzaffarpur and visit Darbhanga/Madhubani before continuing into Nepal.

I see that the Nepal border is pretty close to Madhubani, so i was planning to
ride from Madhubani to Janakpur and then Kathmandu.

Would you have any info on the Madhubani to Janakpur route? It's condition and any info on border crossing?

From what I could find, there is a route from Pipraun or via Jaynagar? Info is pretty scarce on the net as most folks talk about crossings at Raxaul/Sonaul/Kakarbhitta. Hoping you or some local you know would have info on this?

*Mods: Feel free to move the post as it's not directly relevant to this thread.

Thanks in advance!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Eddy

And for the first time in my life, I used the cruise control for a length of time. Set the cc to 100 (which is the speed limit) and had to break out of cc mode only for the three toll plazas - the highway is that big and dare I say, underutilized currently.

And given the fact that it is completely deserted and in UP, I will not risk a night drive on it just yet.

I am still confused whether the speed limit controlled access highways is still 100 or it is 120 now. On both the Yamuna and the Agra-Lucknow, the boards are all 100. I have used the Yamuna E'way many times and so am familiar. It is here that I learnt that Cruise Control is invaluable. Only point is that villagers have broken the fencing and often you find them cycling along the sides.

[acquillew]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I am still confused whether the speed limit controlled access highways is still 100 or it is 120 now. On both the Yamuna and the Agra-Lucknow, the boards are all 100. I have used the Yamuna E'way many times and so am familiar. It is here that I learnt that Cruise Control is invaluable. Only point is that villagers have broken the fencing and often you find them cycling along the sides.

Did this stretch last week and was informed both at the toll and by the cops, keep it at 100.

[EFF-EIGHT-BEE]

Hey guys, I'll bw doing Delhi-Lucknow drive tomorrow and need some suggestions. What is the situation regarding amenities now(fuel and food) on Agra-lucknow stretch? I have heard that the Agra-lucknow stretch is deserted and has no washroom facilities, is that true or the things have improved now? How much time on an aveo would one take to reach Delhi to Lucknow?

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by EFF-EIGHT-BEE

Hey guys, I'll bw doing Delhi-Lucknow drive tomorrow and need some suggestions. What is the situation regarding amenities now(fuel and food) on Agra-lucknow stretch? I have heard that the Agra-lucknow stretch is deserted and has no washroom facilities, is that true or the things have improved now? How much time on an aveo would one take to reach Delhi to Lucknow?

No, Agra-Lucknow stretch has 2 food courts with petrol pumps (Relaince and IOCL). The food courts are nothing to talk about, they serve food, but its nothing great. Both food courts have clean toilets.

These food courts are some 100kms apart from each other. If you maintain 100 kmph throughout, you should reach Lucknow in 6 to 7 hours depending upon the time you spend at stopping for food/toilets/fuel.

Safe travels!

[BoneCollector]

What's the current status of toll plazas and restrooms on the expressway? Is FasTag accepted?

[sgiitk]

There was talk of 100kph in winters, but now. Now I saw a news item that they will prosecute drivers (apparently they already are) who take under THREE hours for the 302km. So the limit continues to be 100kpl.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

There was talk of 100kph in winters, but now. Now I saw a news item that they will prosecute drivers (apparently they already are) who take under THREE hours for the 302km. So the limit continues to be 100kpl.

This is the report .
https://www.firstpost.com/india/up-i...s-6914781.html

I took Agra-Lucknow expressway yesterday while coming back from Gurgaon. The speed limit indeed is 100kmph although I saw people zipping past me and going over the horizon while I was maintaining about 95kmph. I crossed first toll at 12:35pm and the second one at 16:05. The person manning the second booth asked me what time I crossed first toll. So if this is the way the police intends to challan people by asking them the time, it won't be fruitful. Till the time there is a mechanism to automatically convey the timings, this system will fail. One can also fool the system by speeding whatever speeds and then taking an hour break at the food plaza.

The FasTag works on the expressway. But only 2 lanes per side are FasTag lanes. Moreover, it doesn't read automatically but you need to tell them the vehicle number when you cross the first and the second toll. Total cost is Rs. 585/- for one side journey.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Till the time there is a mechanism to automatically convey the timings, this system will fail. One can also fool the system by speeding whatever speeds and then taking an hour break at the food plaza.

I am sure they can check the time from their records.

However, a break at the Food Plaza or even an overnight halt was our standard dodge on French Autoroutes. But that was around 1989-91. The French had safety lights (yellow) which flashed whenever you were going too fast.

[Sail]

Indeed, it is 100 kmph limit.

Yesterday I took Etawah – Agra sector (KM76 – KM22). I saw RTO police men are sitting at toll booth for issuing challans to over speeding cars (confirmed with toll tax collector). They are calculating passing time at each toll booths, don’t know how it’s going to work w/out any speed camera or police chase.

In JEW, I saw cars are over speeding and then taking break at food joints.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by Sail

Indeed, it is 100 kmph limit.

Yesterday I took Etawah – Agra sector (KM76 – KM22). I saw RTO police men are sitting at toll booth for issuing challans to over speeding cars (confirmed with toll tax collector). They are calculating passing time at each toll booths, don’t know how it’s going to work w/out any speed camera or police chase.

Normal practice in France at one time. Of course a stop (maybe even overnight) put all this to doubt. Driving to Reading (UK) to Grenoble(F) via Calais this happened all the time.So yes, in a way we were 'exempt'.