[travelmate]

Originally Posted by vasoo

The route I mentioned is two way! If you are coming back, it is even more advisable, since an early morning start from Kottayam will let you past the border in about 3 hours, before traffic picks up. I came back through that route last week. Started at 5.30 am and crossed border at about 8.15am. Reached Bangalore in 10 hours drive.



Distance via Dindigul is exactly 600 kms, between Silkboard jn and Kottayam town. Via Nh47 it is 604 kms and via Nilambur it is 550 kms. However the last option will take the longest time (~14 hrs) due to heavy traffic between Kottayam and Shornur. Regarding scenic roads, again Kumily route is the best ,especially an early morning start from Kottayam is very refreshing through tea estates near Peermade and Vandiperiyar which are in higher altitudes (~1200m) than Vazhikadavu route.

I did not consider the Kumily route as I have been through this section umpteen times, though not to Mysore but will make it an option next time round.

[vasoo]

Originally Posted by joecherian

..

Will I take this route for my return journey ? probably not since I am planning to do a day journey.

What other option do we have? I cannot imagine myself driving through the heavy traffic in MC Road or NH 47 for 300 kms before entering TN. I traveled through Theni > Dindigul route on day time (8am to 11 am) last week and there were no traffic issues at the diversions as the overall traffic in this route seem to be pretty low in comparison to roads in Kerala.

[kala]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Did Palakkad- Bangalore yesterday, roads from KL/ TN border till Coimbatore byepass is a mess. However it pales in comparision of Coimbatore byepass end till Chengapalli from where completed 4 lane starts.
Traffic was less and road condition superb for the ~100 kms from Chengapalli - Salem, was able to do that in about 80mins. Once reaching Salem and joining NH-7 traffic was mad which became even worse once passing Krishnagiri. However, saw both lanes open all way in Krishnagiri, had seen one lane closed in small sections while travelling couple of weeks back due to some excavation work. Took around 8 Hrs to reach Domlur in Bangalore with about 45 mins of break.

Me too travelled from Guruvayur to Bangalore yesterday afternoon, and I took NH209 instead of the Salem route. Did the Palghat to Bangalore (Banashankari) stretch in 7 hrs 15 minutes including an hour's break in between.

The worst stretches were the ones between Walayar and CBE bypass start (Got stuck at K.G.Chavadi for about 10-15 minutes due to a jam) and then between the byepass end and Karumathampatti. The rest of the journey was a breeze (Karumathampatti-Annur-Sathyamangalam-Chamarajnagar-Kollegal-Kanakapura-Bangalore) with not too much of traffic. In fact did the stretch from CBE byepass end to Bangalore in 6 hrs 10 minutes inclusive of an hour's break - an actual driving time of 5 hrs 10 minutes (And a pretty relaxed drive at that - don't think I went beyond 110-120 kms during the whole drive).

[joecherian]

came back through the conventional NH47 route yesterday. Started from Ernakulam at 3 PM and was at home (CV Raman Nagar) at 1 AM. Trichur Palghat roads have improved except at the "small" ghat sections. Walayar-LT Bye pass too manageable. LT-Chengalpally has diversions but still manageable.Over all not much an issue. Traffic was sparse as I drove on a monday evening.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by kala

Me too travelled from Guruvayur to Bangalore yesterday afternoon, and I took NH209 instead of the Salem route. Did the Palghat to Bangalore (Banashankari) stretch in 7 hrs 15 minutes including an hour's break in between.
In fact did the stretch from CBE byepass end to Bangalore in 6 hrs 10 minutes inclusive of an hour's break - an actual driving time of 5 hrs 10 minutes

Guess till the CBE- Chengapalli road work is done Sathyamangalam route will be better. However once Palakkad - Chengapalli strech is also 4 laned I guess the ~200 Kms from Palakkad - Salem would be easily doable in around 2.5 hrs.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Guess till the CBE- Chengapalli road work is done Sathyamangalam route will be better. However once Palakkad - Chengapalli strech is also 4 laned I guess the ~200 Kms from Palakkad - Salem would be easily doable in around 2.5 hrs.

As of now Satyamangalam route is in good shape but read somewhere in newspaper that they got approval to four lane the stretch from Kanakpura (?) to Bangalore NICE road jn and work will commence shortly.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

As of now Satyamangalam route is in good shape but read somewhere in newspaper that they got approval to four lane the stretch from Kanakpura (?) to Bangalore NICE road jn and work will commence shortly.

Yes there is a plan to 4-lane NH209 on both sides of CBE.
(Bangalore-Kollegal) and CBE-Pollachi-Dindigul.

The Bangalore side of NH209 is so beautiful with less traffic and a nice 2-lane, it will
spoil the beauty of that place in entirety.

[mpksuhas]

Well, 4- laning would be unavoidable since traffic is slowly increasing like any other road. So they will be 4-laning the whole Bangalore- Dindigul section except Kollegal- Coimbatore section (180kms) ?
Yes, 2 -lane roads have a charm of its own, even Mysore - Bandipur section of NH 212 has lost its charm ever since they cut huge trees bordering the road some 7 years back, though the road still remains 2-laned.

[jacs]

Just returned from a KL drive.

Onward Journey : (Started @ 1PM on last tuesday: Accent CRDi : ~570KMs : ~10 hours excluding breaks Top speed : 100Kmph)
Bangalore -> Salem -> Avinashi -> Walayar -> Palakkad -> Trissur -> Muvattupuzha -> Kottayam
4 laning work near Avinashi is still a pain due to deviations and traffic. Had no issues other than that.


Return Journey : (Started @ 5PM on last sunday: VW Vento TDi : ~590KMs : ~9 hours excluding breaks Top speed : 120Kmph)
Kottayam -> Kumily -> Theni -> Dindigul -> Salem -> Bangalore
Road widening between Cumbom - Dindigul is progressing fast but unmarked deviations are still a problem.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

Here is an image of this parallel road taken from Cochin side of toll booth. Those five lights in background is the toll plaza. Don't know how long it will be open

I see a lot of people using the parallel road to avoid paying toll. Early morning today (I was at the toll booth before 6am), when I was coming to Cochin from Thrissur, I spotted a Ritz in front of me which was going towards the parallel road. I made a mental note of his registration number, just to check how long will it take him to catch up with me again.

He passed me again when I was half-way between Aluva and Kalamassery - that's about 50km from the toll. Considering that I was doing a steady ~80-85kmph (never touched 90, my speed warning is set at 90), I guess he would've had to do 100+kmph atleast for some part of his trip to catch up with me. A faster driver than me in my place would probably have been home in Cochin by the time our toll-evader reached Aluva.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by StarrySky

I see a lot of people using the parallel road to avoid paying toll. Early morning today (I was at the toll booth before 6am), when I was coming to Cochin from Thrissur, I spotted a Ritz in front of me which was going towards the parallel road. I made a mental note of his registration number, just to check how long will it take him to catch up with me again.

He passed me again when I was half-way between Aluva and Kalamassery - that's about 50km from the toll. Considering that I was doing a steady ~80-85kmph (never touched 90, my speed warning is set at 90), I guess he would've had to do 100+kmph atleast for some part of his trip to catch up with me. A faster driver than me in my place would probably have been home in Cochin by the time our toll-evader reached Aluva.

As per the map, its just 100 meters extra on parallel road while going towards Cochin. Considering the wait time at toll plaza, there shouldn't be much difference in time.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

As per the map, its just 100 meters extra on parallel road while going towards Cochin. Considering the wait time at toll plaza, there shouldn't be much difference in time.

The distance may not be much, but AFAIK it is a narrow road which is now seeing heavy traffic including trucks in both directions by toll-evaders. The time taken may not be propotional to the distance. And early in the morning, the wait time at the toll plaza is close to zero (thanks in part to the toll-evaders )

[travelmate]

Yes, you get stuck behind a couple of trailers on the service road and it could take quite a while.

[ranjitp1]

The Wadakancheri Railway overbridge over the railway level crossing would be open to traffic from 6pm/April12th 2012.Finally travel between Palakkad/Shoranur/Nilambur towards Thrissur would be easy and travel time should see a reduction by atleast 30-45mins or more.

[pramodpk]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

The Wadakancheri Railway overbridge over the railway level crossing would be open to traffic from 6pm/April12th 2012.Finally travel between Palakkad/Shoranur/Nilambur towards Thrissur would be easy and travel time should see a reduction by atleast 30-45mins or more.

I also read this in Mathrubhumi today. How does it reduce travel time by 30-45 mins?