[carboy]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

It leaves Thane at 6.05AM something, so the person will have to be at thane.

Is this the regular Thane Railway station or a different station for Long Distance trains? Sorry for the stupid questions. Been decades since I have traveled by train.

Also for the coming Monday, Indrayani is showing GNWL16/WL13 - what chance of it getting confirmed & what happens if it doesn't get confirmed?

Originally Posted by ani_meher

While going, the early train is Intercity, at 5.55pm. It reaches Thane at about 8.25PM,

What about the Mumbai Express at 4:40 pm? What time does one have to leave Magarpatta/Hadapsar to catch that train?

[anjan_c2007]

The taxi operator K.K. Travels is quite reliable. Check out for rear seat belts though. The agency is Pune based and they pick passengers from their addresses anywhere in Pune. Advance booking is preferable.

They have sedans/ MPV's and so on which are all pretty new and in very good condition. Three passengers in the back seat and one in the front seat is the limit. The drivers are pretty well behaved and drive between 80-100 kmph. Pick-ups in Pune take about 45 minutes to one hour. And the drive to Mumbai takes two and a half to three hours.

At Mumbai, they drop passengers at the domestic airport terminal where they have an office. Taxis are many and almost every half an hour a taxi leaves Pune and vice versa.
Their nos. are 020 24367997, 020 24369797, 9011979797, 9822979797 and Mumbai 02228203859.

Self driving is another option and these two options can go on and on as per the need and convenience.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by carboy

Also for the coming Monday, Indrayani is showing GNWL16/WL13 - what chance of it getting confirmed & what happens if it doesn't get confirmed?

What about the Mumbai Express at 4:40 pm? What time does one have to leave Magarpatta/Hadapsar to catch that train?

Thane Platform No. 5. If he catches fast train from Ghatkopar to Kalyan/Karjat/Kasara etc, he will get down at this platform at Thane.

Thumbrule is, waiting list below 20 for second seating and single digit in AC has a good chance of confirmation in Pune-Mumbai-Pune travel. As I said, you need to plan weekends. Weekdays are easier to get tickets.

If you have bought ticket online: If your tickets do not get confirmed, you do not have ticket. Your money will automatically get refunded to the bank. You CAN NOT travel using wait listed ticket that was booked online.

If you have bought ticket physically from a window: then you can travel using this wait listed ticket, and have a chance of getting a seat by showing it to the TC and paying some charge for seating. Else it is a general ticket, and you can travel in unreserved bogie.

The express etc are all very time consuming. Only Intercity followed by Indrayani are best options for this travel. Rest will test patience due to their speed and 'halt at many stations' type.

I think Magarpatta to Pune station should take 30-40 minutes in normal traffic in a rick/taxi.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by ani_meher

Thumbrule is, waiting list below 20 for second seating and single digit in AC has a good chance of confirmation in Pune-Mumbai-Pune travel. As I said, you need to plan weekends.

Thank you so much. You have answered so many of my questions!

What about Tatkal tickets - is there a good chance of getting Tatkal tickets on the day before?

[the_skyliner]

Originally Posted by carboy

Doesn't this go through Chembur? Do they pick up passengers in Chembur?


Which is better, station or swargate?

Not sure about Chembur stop but getting down at Swargate would be better as it is relatively closer to Hadapsar/Magarpatta.

[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by carboy

What about Tatkal tickets - is there a good chance of getting Tatkal tickets on the day before?

I would say a fair chance, but it is a frustrating experience especially for weekends, what with the site hanging numerous times and the tickets getting diminished in front of your eyes.

BTW I think we have some IRCTC related thread, you will get better answer there!

[comfortablynumb]

Well, don't know if it's safe or not and I have no personal experience with it, but in a crunch, Bla Bla car is another option he can consider:

https://www.blablacar.in/ride-sharing/mumbai/pune/

Cheers,
Vikram

[GTO]

If it was a BHPian, I'd say DRIVE .

However, if it's a regular dude who's not particular about driving and SAFETY is the topmost priority, I'd say train. Whenever my folks wanted to go to Deolali (Nasik) and I wasn't available to drive them down, I'd insist they take the train. Chauffeurs are too risky. I just don't trust them on the highway.

The train will also be a smoother ride. He could easily spend a couple of the commute hours working.

[noopster]

I've been doing this regularly since work forced me to be based in Mumbai sometime last year. I drive down to Mumbai every Monday morning and back up to Pune Friday afternoon. I must tell you that though self-drive makes a lot of sense, I cannot imagine doing the up-and-down journey in a single day that too with a full day's work in between. It will simply exhaust the hell out of you!

So my advice is to take a taxi. There are several reliable private operators who specialise in runs between these 2 cities and they charge around 2100/- one-way for a hatch/ small sedan (typically Indica or Swift Dzire). Advantage is that you get picked up and dropped right to the doorstep unlike the bus or train route.

Like GTO said, I don't trust these drivers so usually it's me doing the driving. But over time we have cultivated one or two agencies that have well-maintained vehicles and decent drivers on the rolls. We use them for trips to ferry across family when I can't make it.

Edit: You can now rent a Zoomcar for one-way driving between Mumbai and Pune (or vice versa). Since morning drives are relatively fast and safe, you can ask your friend to rent a nice car one way and drop it in Pune somewhere near where his office is. And return trip can be by a chauffered taxi when he can just relax in the back. How's that for an idea!

[sschivate]

I would suggest a train. Typically Indrayani runs full on Sunday evening (Pune - Mumbai) and Monday morning (Mumbai - Pune). These two days would need booking at least a week in advance. On all other days, getting a reservation should not be a problem. IRCTC website confirms this trend.

Both Indrayani and Intercity express have a halt at Thane and Dadar on both ways.

Pune station to Magarpatta City should take 25-35 min depending on traffic.

[centaur]

WHile Shivneri is a good option but I would suggest against it because because the time it would take post entering Kothrud to Swargate would be higher owing to the traffic around Nal stop. Best option would be the Indrayani which would travel faster to Pune. To avoid the ticketing hassles, you can look at a monthly pass and see if it would be a better option in terms of the cost vis-a-vis the tickets. Adding to this is the fact that the trains also have a dedicated pass holders bogie. The distance from the railway station or Swargate to Magarpatta is almost the same if I am not wrong and so time should be the only criteria for selecting a mode of transport IMO

Best option to catch the Indrayani is from Thane than going backwards to Dadar. It would mostly come on platform No 5 and likewise for the intercity too. The intercity however is lesser crowded and more faster (marginally on paper and considerably in reality).

Also a point to be noted is that, the Indrayani continues as an intercity express to Solapur from Pune because of which it is mostly heavily crowded. Likewise, in the evenings too, it comes from Solapur and continues to Mumbai. So if a 10-15 min delay is fine, the intercity is the best option and mostly punctual too. Intercity too has similar stoppages like Indrayani (Thane/Dadar) and shouldn't be an issue to get into.

If looking for drivers, zimmber is a website which provides drivers (Driver on Demand) in Mumbai though when I enquired, they refused outstation trips. However since in your cousin's case, it will be a single day trip, you might want to check with them to see if they give you drivers

[carboy]

http://www.ndtv.com/mumbai-news/17-d...essway-1415629

[carboy]

Since I started this thread my cousin has done at least 10 Mumbai-Pune trips by Train. I have also done a few. It's really very convenient. Thanks to all who answered in this thread. We take the Indrayini in the morning & the Intercity in the evening from Pune. Only issue is the Intercity has been 20-30 minutes late in reaching Mumbai each and every time in spite of starting at the right time from Pune. After crossing Lonavala, the train becomes rather slow and also stops in the middle a few times (not at stations). What is the reason for this?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by carboy

After crossing Lonavala, the train becomes rather slow and also stops in the middle a few times (not at stations). What is the reason for this?

The intercity when started was a fantastic train taking 2.45 hrs to reach Dadar from Pune. The train used to reach Thane at 8.20 pm and was perfect alternative to driving if coming from Pune. However even in my last few trips on the train, have found that the train halts at Karjat and kalyan reasons best known to the officials and driver. Maybe to drop a few important dignitaries. These days the train reaches Thane at 8.40-45 pm.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

However even in my last few trips on the train, have found that the train halts at Karjat and kalyan reasons best known to the officials and driver. Maybe to drop a few important dignitaries. These days the train reaches Thane at 8.40-45 pm.

I have never seen it stop at the Karjat or Kalyan station - it stops a little before or after, though.