[Makin Rulesz]

Today I drove from Bangalore to Mumbai and reached safely, Thanks to the info on this thread.

Started at 4AM sharp as per plan and eventually messed up the routes and before I realize, I was somewhere on the ORR instead of driving through the city. To my surprise the railway crossing flyover was open for traffic and within no time I was at Goraguntepalya signal.

Roads were excellent, traffic too was very minimal and it was breeze to get through the toll gates. I could maintain good average speeds until Kolhapur. Once into Maharashtra it's totally opposite, with lot of traffic especially two wheelers and quite a lot diversions due to ongoing construction work. Then had to get through the evening traffic of Mumbai and finally reached Andheri at 6PM.

Stopped for breakfast at Kamat Upchar, Ranebennur and lunch at Vittal Kamat, somewhere between Karad and Satara. Refueled at BPCL pump on Belgaum bypass.

Almost all the tolls were accepting card payments, but did not use it since I had cash in hand and it helped to get out of the tolls fast. Wallet payment options were available in few tolls in Maharashtra, but did not see any on Karnataka side.

Roads were very uneven on the stretch before Hubli and at some places it was so severe that I scrapped the underbody.

[NPV]

Back from a recent trip to Kumta, just wanted to share an update on eateries we stopped at:
1. Mysore Cafe (this is a branch of the Mysore Cafe inside the Chitradurga town) on the NH 48 highway service road near the Nijalingappa Memorial (left side when going from Bangalore towards Chitradurga). We stopped for coffee and snacks here and the place was neat and food decent. Restrooms are outside and were clean.

2. Deol Punjabi Hotel - this is on the right side when going from Bangalore near Haveri and needs a U-turn. Lots of truckers and VRL buses stop here, not a fine dining place but food was decent and place was neat. Restrooms are located outside and were clean. We stopped here for dinner.

3. Kamat, Chattra between Haveri and Ranebennur - on left side when coming from Haveri towards Bangalore. Place is decent, clean restrooms as well. This is in same campus as the IOC petrol bunk and CCD.

[MorePower]

A report on cashless toll payments on the Bangalore - Pune - Mumbai route. Drove from Bangalore to Pune on 23rd December. Due to the start of the Christmas weekend, there was heavy traffic at all tolls leading out of Bangalore. No Paytm payments at any of the tolls in Karnataka. Card was accepted at Karjeevanahally toll put payment failed the first time. It was successful in the 2nd attempt and the earlier debit was reversed later. Subsequently paid by card at Hubli - Bypass toll, Hirebagewadi toll as well as Kagnoli. The scene in Maharashtra was much better. All tolls starting Kini were accepting Paytm. The QR code was stuck at the toll both. All you have to do is scan the QR code in the Paytm app, enter the amount and pay. The operator will ask for the Paytm confirmation SMS which will have the transaction reference number. Once you show the message, they will note down the number and issue the receipt. The whole process is smooth. Barely takes a few seconds more than cash payment. Paid with Paytm at Anewadi toll too. Paytm wasn't working at Khedshivpur toll, or so I was told by the operator. But card was accepted. Card was also accepted at the Mumbai - Pune expressway in my subsequent drive to Mumbai. Will be returning to Bangalore over the new year's weekend. Will share updates on cashless payments on the route.

[carlosTHEjackal]

Originally Posted by NPV

Back from a recent trip to Kumta, just wanted to share an update on eateries we stopped at:
1. Mysore Cafe (this is a branch of the Mysore Cafe inside the Chitradurga town) on the NH 48 highway service road near the Nijalingappa Memorial (left side when going from Bangalore towards Chitradurga). We stopped for coffee and snacks here and the place was neat and food decent. Restrooms are outside and were clean.

Yes I agree. Good Coffee / Snack place.

Originally Posted by NPV

3. Kamat, Chattra between Haveri and Ranebennur - on left side when coming from Haveri towards Bangalore. Place is decent, clean restrooms as well. This is in same campus as the IOC petrol bunk and CCD.

Very Slow service. Infact I walked out of this place as no waiter came to me for taking the food order even after 15 Mins. Bad service. Might take easily 1.15 hrs for dinner and you need to have loads of paitence. Doesn't recommend this place if you are in a hurry.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by carlosTHEjackal

Very Slow service.

True this, and they're understaffed. We circumvented this by getting the thali meal which was quite quick. Large family groups were finding it tough to get the attention of the staff to get their orders right.

[carlosTHEjackal]

On the recent trip from Kolhapur to Bangalore, All Tolls managed by IRB seems to be very slow compared to L&T and other private operators. I did see many toll booth attendants sporting Navy Blue uniforms with NHAI badging on them.
At night post 10:00 their efficiency is reduced and are more slow than day time. Seems like some kind of additional process is used in all IRB operated booths. So please add 10 to 15 mins extra for IRB tolls if not using FastTag.
I hate the Hebbalu IRB toll booth. They are annoying to the core.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by NPV

We circumvented this by getting the thali meal which was quite quick.

When it comes to specific places like these (Kamat), Plate Meals/Thali works best as that is the most fast moving item on their list and is served equally fast.

Whenever we stop by at such places, even when I am heading to the rest room, I tell my folks to order meals (for the adults) and when I back in 2 minutes, its already there on the table.

Even at Vittal Kamat in MH, I have preferred their thali over anything else.

At times, these small little things are the reasons for your very good average speeds even from a small little car .

[vivek95]

Phew !!! First day of new year on a Sunday plus extended leaves taken by a larger public and above all numerous beautiful holiday destinations located in proximity to Pune/Mumbai - net result is crazy amount of highway traffic on Pune-Kolhapur stretch on both carriageways. Flooded with loads of cars, TTs, buses and trucks. The carriageway towards Pune/Mumbai is atleast carrying massive traffic right now. Expect chaos as the noon progresses to evening. People heading to and fro Pune/Mumbai brace up for some typical Maharashtra heavy weekend traffic. That's just a long beeline of moving vehicles I can see on both carriageways !

People intending to start from Kolhapur now towards Pune/Mumbai Happy new year !

[cool_dube]

Hi all, is Fastag facility active yet on any of the toll-plazas on this route? If so, how effective is it?

Thanks in advance...

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Hi all, is Fastag facility active yet on any of the toll-plazas on this route? If so, how effective is it?

As per NHAI it is working in all tolls, but that most of the times is not truth.

You can refer NPV's update here, though its couple of months old I guess situation is almost same.

Link

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

As per NHAI it is working in all tolls, but that most of the times is not truth.

Thanks Suhas. As you said, things might have changed over the last 4 months and possibly more toll plazas have adopted FASTag, especially in view of demonitization. I am driving to Hubli next month and will try and procure a FASTag in time for the same.

[rohanak1]

Originally Posted by chekisti

Just before the Karnataka border the roads become smooth as silk

I drove between Sangli and Kolhapur in October. The road from Kolhapur to Dharwad is super smooth and silky. I maintained 100+ speeds even in the night. The Chitradurga-Tumkur stretch again is brilliant.

[ragh_bhushan]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Hi all, is Fastag facility active yet on any of the toll-plazas on this route? If so, how effective is it?

Thanks in advance...

Hi,

I did this route recently. Fastag worked on all toll plazas except Hubli-Dharwad bypass.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by ragh_bhushan

Hi,

I did this route recently. Fastag worked on all toll plazas except Hubli-Dharwad bypass.

Thanks. Was there a dedicated FASTag lane at all toll plazas? If so, how easy was it to spot? Also, how much time on an average did you end up spending at each plaza, given FASTag?

[ragh_bhushan]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Thanks. Was there a dedicated FASTag lane at all toll plazas? If so, how easy was it to spot? Also, how much time on an average did you end up spending at each plaza, given FASTag?

Mumbai - Pune Expressway: No dedicated lane but Fastag works on all lanes although on some occasions I have found them not working properly in non-Fastag lane.

At almost all other toll plazas, they did have a dedicated lane for Fastag but only in Karnataka did they impose restrictions on non-Fastag vehicles entering the Fastag lane. All of them were fairly easy to spot as there were signages mentioning the exact lane number for Fastag starting at about 500 meters before the toll plaza.

For toll plazas imposing restrictions on usage of Fastag lane, it was more like slowing down for a speed-breaker. Really fast and smooth. And for others it did not make a lot of difference except cash-handling time.

Just make sure you drive at less than 10 kmph, maintain a car's length in front and you will breeze through without stopping