[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

Fastag up and running on Coimbatore L&T bypass. All the intermediate tolls have Fastag too. Initially an amount of 17 is deducted and when you cross the final toll an amount of 28 is further deducted.

The inner lane is Fastag as of now. No boards or any other indicators for the Fastag lane as yet - probably because it's imolemented recently (couple of days).

Didn't pay much attention to the small cardboard boards while returning from Kerala on 30th and ended up paying the toll twice - by cash and by Fastag

--Anoop

[AshiqueS]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

Didn't pay much attention to the small cardboard boards while returning from Kerala on 30th and ended up paying the toll twice - by cash and by Fastag

--Anoop

Same case happened with me.
did BLR- Ernakulam trip last week and returned.
Overall , the FASTAG and cash lane segregation is good, except for the palliekkara toll

[bejoy]

Originally Posted by deemash

Drove back to Coimbatore on Dec 31, 2019 night and reached Coimbatore on 1.1.2020.

I took the same route on same day, but started at 2PM from Ravipuram. The container terminal toll was smooth and I saw many cars taking reverse when the tag did not work or they did not have the tag at all. Palliekkara was crowded and I took the extreme right lane, there were some 10 cars ahead of me and it was moving quickly, the barrier opened for me and a nod from the attender, but I see no deduction in my account (2 days over).

The coimbatore byepass was a surprise, I noted the "Fastag" placard on the right and took the right lane.

Scanning was smooth, though the boom had to be opened manually once. Felt that the cash lane was faster. Traffic was very bad a lost a lot of time. Google suggested a shortcut and managed to skip almost a km of gridlock to the next traffic signal before the last toll gate.




All the other toll booths till Bangalore were managed very well, except at Attibelle. It was chaos as usual.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by deemash

on 1.1.2020. I usually take Aroor -> Edappally -> and before reaching kumbalangi vazhi there is a Church on the right hand side. I took that route and this took me to the Thoppumpady - Kudanoor road. Took the Tevara sacred hearts college road, Ravipuram left turn and this took me to BTH near Subash bose park. From there to Container road toll plaza.

Coming from Cherthala, if you take right at Aroor, you go via Kundannoor Vyttilla, and reach Edappally.

If you go straight, you cross the Aroor Edakochi bridge, pass St Acquinas College on left, (the culvert / bridge here is across the "pashnithodu" canal) pass Kumbalanggy Vazhi Junction, reach a sharp right with a church on right, (may be, some minor road goes to left / straight here) pass the Palluruthy veli / ground and the Industrial estate on the left, the police station on the right, a temple somewhere opposite the police station, and then turn right on to the BOT bridge. This is the old NH47, before the Edappally - Aroor bypass came. The toll plaza still stands, but no tolls. There is a signal when the bridge ends.

If you turn right here, you reach the (in)famous Kundannoor junction. Somewhere on this road, you turn left to pass the Thevara college. And then to MG Road. This is the longer road to each MG Road from the BOT bridge. But the better option to reach NH bypass.

Take straight from the BOT signal, and when you reach a T junction, turn right. Cross the railway gate. (If the gate is closed, take a U turn and take the Thevara SH College route). After the gate, turn right, so that the railway track is to your right. On the left is the Naval base. You cross the bridge to reach starting point of MG Road.

[Sunil2307]

Drove from Mananthavady to Ernakulam in last week of last year. The roads were a mess driving in and out of Wayanad. In the sections without craters there was a lot of patch work done which made it a bumpy and tiring ride through out. We took the Kozhikode bypass - Tirur - Ponani - Chavakkad route. My brother-in-law and family drove between the same points the following week and took the Malapuram route and it was marginally better.

[deemash]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Coming from Cherthala, if you take right at Aroor, you go via Kundannoor Vyttilla, and reach Edappally.

Thank you. I usually do not take the NH due to severe traffic jams at Kundanoor, Vytilla and Edappally. I am also worried of 2 wheel riders coming close or squeezing between vehicles. I only take the NH if I reach Kochi after 10 PM. Kochi has some notorious 2 wheel riders

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Take straight from the BOT signal, and when you reach a T junction, turn right. Cross the railway gate. (If the gate is closed, take a U turn and take the Thevara SH College route). After the gate, turn right, so that the railway track is to your right. On the left is the Naval base. You cross the bridge to reach starting point of MG Road.

If I correctly follow you, you are asking to go via the Thopumpady BOT bridge and take the old airport road I guess to go over Venduruthi bridge. I actually used to take this road when the Thevara road was damaged. Some locals there told me if the Railway gate there is closed, go via the Willingdon Island which has minimal toll of 10 rupees IMHO and reach the other side of the gate. Once my friend was forced to take this route when the railway gate was closed for some maintenance. I have never tried the Willingdon Island route though.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

If you go straight, you cross the Aroor Edakochi bridge, pass St Acquinas College on left, (the culvert / bridge here is across the "pashnithodu" canal) pass Kumbalanggy Vazhi Junction, reach a sharp right with a church on right, (may be, some minor road goes to left / straight here) pass the Palluruthy veli / .....

Before Acquinas college, there is a church on the right hand side of the road when going towards Thompumpady. One road is going towards right very next to the church. Take this and you will reach a new bridge. I forgot the name of the bridge. Once you get down of the bridge right turn will take to Kundanoor and left will take to the end of the Thompumpady BOT bridge. From this signal if you take right, you will reach the T-junction which you mentioned. This was we can avoid some traffic is what I felt at Kumbalangi Vazhi and Palluruthy. Distance I guess both are same.

Originally Posted by bejoy

Palliekkara was crowded and I took the extreme right lane, there were some 10 cars ahead of me and it was moving quickly, the barrier opened for me and a nod from the attender, but I see no deduction in my account (2 days over).

I also had taken the right most lane. I wanted to take the express lane but somehow missed it when I approached the toll plaza following other vehicles.
The toll booth operator opened the gate for me after nodding and on the display it displayed like "convoy start" and they allowed close to 4 cars which were behind me. No money was deducted from my Fastag account on the way back to Kovai.

[kuriancjohn]

Hi All,
I am planning to travel from Palakkad to Mysore on Jan 17th. What would be the recommended route ?
Google maps suggests:
Palakkad->Coimbatore by-pass ->Left at Karumathampatti - > Annur -> Puliampatti -> Dhoddampalayam -> Hasanur -> Attagulipura -> Chamarajnagar -> Nanjangud ->Mysore

Is this fine or should consider alternate routes ?
What about the road conditions?
Are there many tolls on this route ?

Thanks in advance!

[binand]

Originally Posted by kuriancjohn

Palakkad->Coimbatore by-pass ->Left at Karumathampatti - > Annur -> Puliampatti -> Dhoddampalayam -> Hasanur -> Attagulipura -> Chamarajnagar -> Nanjangud ->Mysore

Is this fine or should consider alternate routes ?
What about the road conditions?
Are there many tolls on this route ?

Be aware there is ongoing widening works on NH 948 in Karnataka. Alternative route to consider is Palakkad-Nilambur-Gudalur-Nanjangud-Mysore.

As far as tolls go, I know:

* Pampampallam toll between Palakkad and Walayar
* 6x toll cluster of Coimbatore bypass
* Kaniyur toll between Coimbatore and Avinashi
* Kadakola toll between Nanjangud and Mysore

[kuriancjohn]

Originally Posted by binand

Be aware there is ongoing widening works on NH 948 in Karnataka. Alternative route to consider is Palakkad-Nilambur-Gudalur-Nanjangud-Mysore.

As far as tolls go, I know:

* Pampampallam toll between Palakkad and Walayar
* 6x toll cluster of Coimbatore bypass
* Kaniyur toll between Coimbatore and Avinashi
* Kadakola toll between Nanjangud and Mysore

Thanks Binand for the quick reply !
Google maps shows that the alternate route that you have suggested takes approximately 7 hours 12 minutes, whereas the route via Coimbatore takes approximately 6 hours 18 minutes.
I am guessing the Palakkad-Nilambur route should be a more pleasant drive compared to the Coimbatore route, but at the cost of time.

[nidhinsarath]

I’m planning a Madurai trip from Calicut. Which is the best route? Is it safe to drive to Madurai in a KL registered vehicle. I’d heard of some horror stories in the past

[JohnnyBoss]

Originally Posted by nidhinsarath

I’m planning a Madurai trip from Calicut. Which is the best route? Is it safe to drive to Madurai in a KL registered vehicle. I’d heard of some horror stories in the past

Kozhikkode - Palakkad - Pollachi - Palani - Dindigul - Madurai

[poloman]

Be advised, Looks like double deduction happening at L&T bypass while using Fast tag. Statement shows 90Rs was debited in my trip towards Bangalore. Used cash in the opposite direction.

[deemash]

Attention those who are planning to go to Kerala via Kuthiran -

There is a confirmed plan to make the Kuthiran one-way from Jan 27 to Feb 10, 2020 for laying underground cables for power grid corporation. Only one side of the road will be opened alternatively (based on traffic and need) for the traffic from both directions to ply.
On these days, the lorries will be allowed to enter Kuthiran between evening 5p to morning 6a. KSRTC and Private vehicles will be allowed to ply as usual.

Please plan accordingly. I suspect traffic block during this period.

Icing on the cake is Thrissur (Paliyekara toll plaza). As per records, only 60% of vehicles availed Fastag facilities and from tomorrow only one lane is there for cash payment. The local passes decision is still pending and God knows how the situation would be.

Found this article in Malayalam-

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by deemash

There is a confirmed plan to make the Kuthiran one-way from Jan 27 to Feb 10, 2020 for laying underground cables for power grid corporation.

My sympathies for people who commute through that route, The Palakkad-Kuthiran-Thrissur has to be one of the worst sections I have overcome. Any Idea on the status of the Kuthiran tunnel? Has it been abandoned?

[philgrac]

Originally Posted by poloman

Be advised, Looks like double deduction happening at L&T bypass while using Fast tag. Statement shows 90Rs was debited in my trip towards Bangalore. Used cash in the opposite direction.

On 10th January, drove from Kochi to Bangalore. At the L&T Byepass, Fastag was accepted on the right toll booth and subsequently passed through all the right booths with no stopping or checking. Rs.17 and 28 were deducted at 2 of the booths. There was no double deduction. The system seems to be working perfectly well. Thus Fastag was used for the entire trip. Feeling good about this development