[narayans80]

Originally Posted by sbkumar

I get a feel that over the past two years since I started driving on this route my average speed has come down mainly due to large number of small towns enroute especially as I near chennai. It feels like city traffic ( may be it is ?) after Kanchipuram.

It feels like city traffic for the last 100 km to Madras, regardless of the NH, for the GQ the mess starts at Arcot, Walajah where Chittoor route and lot of short haul buses join GQ.

[binand]

Originally Posted by narayans80

It feels like city traffic for the last 100 km to Madras, regardless of the NH, for the GQ the mess starts at Arcot, Walajah where Chittoor route and lot of short haul buses join GQ.

This is absolutely mirrored at the other end as well. My experience is that:

• The first 40 km from both cities is as good or as bad as driving in any of the city's arterial roads (Chennai-Sriperumbudur and Bangalore-Hosur);
• The first 100 km from both cities the traffic drops a notch but is still excruciating (Chennai-Ranipet and Bangalore-Krishnagiri); and
• The middle 150 km (Krishnagiri-Ranipet) is what makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Come to think of it, one can identify such stretches for any two city pairs.

Edit: Perhaps more Vellore than Ranipet

[Maverick79]

Originally Posted by RedOne

Since I didn't see any significant advantage in the Chittoor road, returned by GQ. Left Anna Nagar at 10 on Saturday morning and reached Bangalore at 3:45 PM with a lunch break at Ambur and a restroom break after Krishnagiri. Mild traffic most of the way and no serious jams. Was cruising mostly at 100 - 120 max as I was carrying some fragile stuff in the trunk. 5:45 hours door to door.

Maybe I got lucky but I felt traffic was the same on both routes. I could do better time on the GQ due to better road surface and the 4 lanes. Incidentally, I used to regularly do Chennai-Bangalore in 4 hours. Leave a 4 AM and reach at 8 or 8:15, with no breaks.

Gears
Red-One.

,

Hi Red-One,
I am planning to do Chennai- Blgr - Chennai. Thinking of taking the GQ as per your experience.
Will start from Chengalpattu at 2.00pm and take the Kanchipuram - Vllore - Krishnagiri -Hosur - Electronic City - to reach Banashankari, tomorrow. i.e. friday.
Need to catch a bus from Gandhi nagar by 9.00pm.
Will be travelling with my colleague.
Need you suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Maverick79.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by RedOne

Incidentally, I used to regularly do Chennai-Bangalore in 4 hours. Leave a 4 AM and reach at 8 or 8:15, with no breaks.

RedOne, I too was able to do Bangalore- Chennai in around 4:15 hrs last Aug in an Alto when I started around 4AM. However nowdays there are quiet a few diversions in Krishnagiri- Vellore strech which will slow down, however I guess it will be possible to Bangalore- Chennai in below 5 hrs if one start early. The trick is to reach Krishnagiri without much delay (~90mins max) from Bangalore. This will happen only if traffic is real thin.

Originally Posted by Maverick79

,
Will start from Chengalpattu at 2.00pm and take the Kanchipuram - Vllore - Krishnagiri -Hosur - Electronic City - to reach Banashankari, tomorrow. i.e. friday.
Need to catch a bus from Gandhi nagar by 9.00pm.

Maverick, I am not sure how long will it take to drive down from Chengalpattu to NH through Kanchipuram, my guess around 30-40 mins. From there roughly it may take around 4:45 hrs to reach Silk board junction. That means you will be reaching Bangalore (BTM) around 7PM on Friday. Traffic will be bad then and I guess it will be better if you directly go to Gandhi Nagar rather than going there after reaching Banashankari.

[Maverick79]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Maverick, I am not sure how long will it take to drive down from Chengalpattu to NH through Kanchipuram, my guess around 30-40 mins. From there roughly it may take around 4:45 hrs to reach Silk board junction. That means you will be reaching Bangalore (BTM) around 7PM on Friday. Traffic will be bad then and I guess it will be better if you directly go to Gandhi Nagar rather than going there after reaching Banashankari.

Thank you Suhas for your guidance. Actually, I need to park my ride there in Banashankari and again start from there on monday morning.
How long would it take for me to reach Gandhinagar from there Suhas? I am actually new to this part of Bangalore.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Maverick79.

[PRADEEP KUMAR]

Folks,
Did a late nite drive from blr to chennai.
One bad thing i notice is that after the few petrol bunks clustered round Hosur actually there are hardly a few on the left side.
Lucikly foun on ein ambur town bang on the road, after that there is one near kancheepuram town.
Normally leave chennai on full tank and just try to fill for less than 10 ltrs on the way back..
Found it surprising.

cheers

[kala]

Originally Posted by Maverick79

Thank you Suhas for your guidance. Actually, I need to park my ride there in Banashankari and again start from there on monday morning.
How long would it take for me to reach Gandhinagar from there Suhas? I am actually new to this part of Bangalore.

The distance between Banashankari and Gandhinagar is only around 10 to 12 kms with a typical driving time of around 40 to 45 minutes. But since you're going to be travelling between 7PM and 9PM, allow at least an hour - Or may be even 75 to 80 minutes to be on the safer side.

If the day of travel happens to be the eve of a long weekend, beware of massive traffic blocks that can occur on the roads leading to that area (Sometimes lasting 2 or 3 hours)

[mpksuhas]

^^ Second what Kala is saying. If you have to go to Banashankari would be better if you start a bit early from Chennai. Since Friday evening factor atleast 1.5 hrs from Banashankari - Gandhinagar to be on safer side.

[nfsfreak]

Friends,

Couldn't find seperate thread for B'lore-Thirutani stretch hence posting my query here.

Would like to know which is the best route to Thirutani from Bangalore? GoogleMaps suggested below routes.

1: B'lore-Chitoor-Sholingur-Thirutani (244 KMs)
2: B'lore-K'giri-Vellore-Sholingur-Thirutani (297 KMs)

Route 1 - shortest available but not sure how are the roads in & around Chitoor. It was bad 6 months back (checked on my way to Tirupati from B'lore) and had lost considerable time passing Chitoor. Also not sure about Chitoor-Thirutani stretch.
Route 2 - 50Kms more compared to route 1 but 4L till Vellore. Not sure about Vellore-Chitoor stretch.

So what would be the realistic time to cover the distance?
Car is i10 and the idea is to complete the journey within 4.5 hours as I have my friend's reception to attend tomorrow at Thiruthani @ 8 PM. Starting from B'lore (ITPL) @ 3 PM.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by nfsfreak

Friends,

Couldn't find seperate thread for B'lore-Thirutani stretch hence posting my query here.

Here is the thread for you !
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...tirutanni.html

[nfsfreak]

Thanks Ampere. Posted the same query there. The way I spelt didn't yield any result in my previous search

[dhuli]

Once more please! Context: Bangalore to Chennai starting at 3PM from New Thippasandra (560075) on Friday. Question: Should I go via OMR > Kolar > Chitoor bypass > Walajahbad/Ranipet >Sriperumbudur > Chennai OR should I take Hosur > Krishnagiri > Vellore > Sriperumbudur > Chennai? Anyone done this recently - can you comment on traffic delays, road conditions point of view. Other opinions also welcome.

[sbkumar]

Originally Posted by dhuli

Once more please! Context: Bangalore to Chennai starting at 3PM from New Thippasandra (560075) on Friday. Question: Should I go via OMR > Kolar > Chitoor bypass > Walajahbad/Ranipet >Sriperumbudur > Chennai OR should I take Hosur > Krishnagiri > Vellore > Sriperumbudur > Chennai? Anyone done this recently - can you comment on traffic delays, road conditions point of view. Other opinions also welcome.

I have followed almost similar itinerary the last 3 times. (Start from Indiranagar). I would suggest you take OMR. Try not to delay further than 3 PM as you might end up facing traffic with people leaving early on Friday :-) Be prepared to encounter moderate traffic till you reach the four lane. Once you are on it you will enjoy till you re-join the other highway at Walajah. Though the four lane ends at Mulbagal, the route is scenic (more due to the rains) and engaging. You will enjoy traffic on some of the towns enroute and you might have to take it easy at those stretches. If you can cross the two lane stretch and reach Walajah before it gets too dark you should be fine. It takes around 3.30 hrs approximately with sedate driving to do this BLR-Walajah stretch.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by dhuli

Once more please! Context: Bangalore to Chennai starting at 3PM from New Thippasandra (560075) on Friday. Question: Should I go via OMR > Kolar > Chitoor bypass > Walajahbad/Ranipet >Sriperumbudur > Chennai OR should I take Hosur > Krishnagiri > Vellore > Sriperumbudur > Chennai? Anyone done this recently - can you comment on traffic delays, road conditions point of view. Other opinions also welcome.

If you are in Indiranagar, definitely take the Chitoor route. But you should not delay start.
Else as mentioned in the earlier post, getting out of Whitefileld would be pain. Also once it gets darker, its difficult to drive on a 2-lane.

What I have felt is one needs to be more careful driving in twilight rather than in full dark.
Because our eyes dont get accustomed fully in mid level conditions.

[rajshenoy]

I stay in c v raman nagar and have taken chittoor route for my last two trips. Road is decent except for 10-15 km near AP border.

Another point to note is overtaking on two lane can be irritating during evenings when light is low. Also eatouts are very less.

Plus point is saving of 200 toll one way and distance is shorter by 30 kms. I also get same FE.