[narayans80]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Have a trip to Chennai this Friday

If it can be done earlier than Friday. Please drive and get back home by Thursday night.

As of predicted track, Invest 99B would be 150 km east of Pondy with strong NW bands and mostly Saturday morning is landfall.

It may or may not happen, but to play the safe game, I suggest not to come and get stuck.

Trains can potentially get terminated at Arakkonam or Tiruvallur too.

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Trains can potentially get terminated at Arakkonam or Tiruvallur too.

Thank you sir for the heads up! I was hesitant to post my question, but glad I did it. If not for your reply, I wouldn't have realized the magnitude of the rain issue. Will follow the news closely and replan our trip accordingly.

[ssbiitm]

Does anyone know the current status of the road between Ranipettai and Chittoor? Planning to drive to Yelahanka from Chennai tomorrow. Although Google Maps shows the road between Bommasamudram and Nangamangalam, I am not sure of the condition at the railway crossing. The reports are confusing - some say that occasionally vehicles are allowed while many others have had to take the village road as well as drive off road. Should I simply skip Ranipettai and take the Vellore -> Katpadi -> Chittoor section? I did that the last time - road was in okay condition.
Also am planning to go via Vandalur -> Oragadam -> SIPCOT -> Sunguvurchattram instead of taking the Porur -> Poonamalle -> Sriperumbudur or Tambaram -> Manimangalam -> Sriperumbudur options.

Any suggestions?

Thanks and best wishes,
ssbiitm

[m8002?]

Originally Posted by ssbiitm

Also am planning to go via Vandalur -> Oragadam -> SIPCOT -> Sunguvurchattram instead of taking the Porur -> Poonamalle -> Sriperumbudur or Tambaram -> Manimangalam -> Sriperumbudur options.

Any suggestions?

Thanks and best wishes,
ssbiitm

Depends on the time of day. If its early morning before 6am, you can stick to Porur-Poonamallee route. 6:30 to 8am even Sipcot is crowded with a lot of factory buses dropping employees.

[ssbiitm]

Originally Posted by m8002?

Depends on the time of day. If its early morning before 6am, you can stick to Porur-Poonamallee route. 6:30 to 8am even Sipcot is crowded with a lot of factory buses dropping employees.

Thanks for the suggestion . I am likely to start only after 10 AM and so, I hope to avoid the factory buses to SIPCOT. Keeping fingers crossed!!

ssbiitm

[ravib]

Originally Posted by ssbiitm

Does anyone know the current status of the road between Ranipettai and Chittoor? Planning to drive to Yelahanka from Chennai tomorrow. Although Google Maps shows the road between Bommasamudram and Nangamangalam, I am not sure of the condition at the railway crossing. The reports are confusing - some say that occasionally vehicles are allowed while many others have had to take the village road as well as drive off road. Should I simply skip Ranipettai and take the Vellore -> Katpadi -> Chittoor section? I did that the last time - road was in okay condition.
Also am planning to go via Vandalur -> Oragadam -> SIPCOT -> Sunguvurchattram instead of taking the Porur -> Poonamalle -> Sriperumbudur or Tambaram -> Manimangalam -> Sriperumbudur options.

Any suggestions?

Thanks and best wishes,
ssbiitm

As you are starting after 10 AM, you can very well take Ranipettai road. If you have low GC sedan, then avoid the 10 minutes off road near to Bommasamudram Railway gate.
From Ranipet, take Right towards Ponnai and enter Chittoor town and join back NH towards Bangarupalayam, which is better than going via Vellore-Katpadi traffic.

Of course Chittoor town traffic is a pain, but i can assume you will be there around 1 pm or so and hopefully less traffic.

-Ravi

[mankuthimma]

Our trip is planned for this coming week. Planning to enter Chennai limits between 11 to 12 noon, on a weekday. Destination is close to Choolaimedu High Road, behind Nungambakkam Railway station. Any other alternative routes to consider with lesser traffic than what gmaps is suggesting (via Sriperumbudur - Poonamallee - Maduravoyal ), ?

[ravib]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Our trip is planned for this coming week. Planning to enter Chennai limits between 11 to 12 noon, on a weekday. Destination is close to Choolaimedu High Road, behind Nungambakkam Railway station. Any other alternative routes to consider with lesser traffic than what gmaps is suggesting (via Sriperumbudur - Poonamallee - Maduravoyal ), ?

For Choolaimedu destination, Sriperumbudur-Poonamalle-Maduravoyal is the best option than all other options, around noon. Don't see merit or advantages in other routes which is an unwanted detour in kms, waste of fuel and city traffic that can be very well avoided.

-Ravi

[anandhsub]

Drove down to Chennai yesterday. Quite a stressful drive, taking about 6.5 hrs of driving time starting at 8 30 AM from Bengaluru.

Took the Kundrathur road to reach Porur and while there was not much traffic vs the Sriperumbudur- Maduravoyal stretch, the road conditions are horrible.

However the bigger reason for the delay were the diversions between Hoskote and Nangli. Not sure if due to the usual holiday weekend traffic or the late start time but they were quite bad taking about 10-15 mins for each of the diversions.

Cant wait for the expressway to open up atleast partially..

[pypkmsrikanth]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

out-of-syllabus question:

There is uncertainty both ways. Which is the best strategy for getting a confirmed ticket ? I am not at all well versed with train booking techniques, hence asking experienced train experts here

There is a fool proof option for Bangalore-Chennai tickets. Book from Mysore to Chennai with boarding at any of the Bangalore stations. More often than not you would get confirmed tickets at the time of booking itself. Even if you get a WL ticket, the chances for confirmation will be much higher compared to WL tickets from any of the Bangalore station. I used this trick as recently as two days back when I booked my return from Bangalore on Friday evening.

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

Drove down to Chennai yesterday. Quite a stressful drive,

Makes me worried....

btw, how is the situation at Bommasamudram/Nangamangalam railway crossing ? maps is always showing deep red..

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Makes me worried....

btw, how is the situation at Bommasamudram/Nangamangalam railway crossing ? maps is always showing deep red..

Drive an Octavia so havent taken a chance with the railway crossing since June. Took the Chittoor-Ponnai route to join Ranipet.

[ravib]

Originally Posted by anandhsub

However the bigger reason for the delay were the diversions between Hoskote and Nangli. Not sure if due to the usual holiday weekend traffic or the late start time but they were quite bad taking about 10-15 mins for each of the diversions.

Its due to holiday season. Usually its not that bad, but not super fast either. Slow moving traffic , but manageable.

These diversions are far better than the 7 bridge construction diversions between Hosur to Krishnagiri , just because of sheer volume of traffic.

We have to take one pain either way till BCE opens up fully. I would go with OMR than with Krishnagiri for sure.

-Ravi

[Rocky_Balboa]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

Makes me worried....

btw, how is the situation at Bommasamudram/Nangamangalam railway crossing ? maps is always showing deep red..

Update after 12/24 drive:
There are loose sand and debris, just before and after the railway crossing and are slightly-treacherous. Avoid if You are driving a sedan or a low-slung car; hatch on stills and above wont have much problem.

[ssbiitm]

Did the Chennai - Yelahanka - Chennai trip on the weekend before Christmas.
Started on 20th at around 11 AM from IIT. Took the
1. Tambaram - Vandalur - Oragadam - SIPCOT - Sunguvurchattram - Kanchipuram - Murugan Idli (exactly 100 kms from start). The SIPCOT to Sunguvurchattram is in bad shape and eminently avoidable.
2. Murugan Idli took longer than usual this time - the break was for over an hour. Meals are a quicker option if you come in around 1 PM or so.
3. Took the Murugan Idli - Ranipettai - Vellore - Katpadi - Chittoor stretch avoiding the Bommasamudram/Nagamangalam construction zone. Quite a bit of traffic through Katpadi, but roads are okay. Becomes bad close to the point where you join NH 40.
4. From Chittoor it was a breeze through Palmaneru - Mulbagal - Kolar - Hoskote and on to the SRR to Devanahalli. Careful about when to exit from the SRR to Devanahalli town!
5. Devanahalli - Yelahanka by the elevated airport road is fine. Reached Yelahanka at 1915.

On the return from Yelahanka on 23rd, took the
1. Yelahanka - Devanahalli (elevated airport road) - Hoskote (SRR) - Kolar - Murugan Idli - Chittoor.
2. Cut back to Katpadi after Naraharipeta (the initial section is horrible with massive potholes and not suited for low-slung vehicles - had to do a lot of "navigating" to keep my Baleno safe)
3. From Vellore onwards it was mostly fine, except that the diversions reduce speed a lot!
4. At Sriperumbudur, took the Manimangalam route as suggested by Google - its a very good option. Except at Manimangalam, the rest of the road is quite good.
5. Reached IIT with a 6h 45m drive.

General observation/recommendation: From south Chennai use Tambaram - Mudichur - Manimangalam - Sriperumbudur section and to north Bangalore/Yelahanka/Jalahalli use the Hoskote - SRR - Devanahalli - elevated airport road. Avoid Hebbal flyover if you can!

Cheers,
Subbu