[IndianNomad]

Drove to Tirumala recently.
Both ways couple of vehicles overtook me including local taxis and private vehicles. For sure they have reached before time as I myself managed to reach the gates almost at the prescribed time limits but didn't notice anybody being fined.
But these time restrictions helps people in reminding them not to hurry, which was in my case.

[prashkul]

Just came across this thread and was completely surprised.

I drive to Tirumala every 3-4 months on an average but never knew this nor got caught anytime. I usually do Alipiri-Tirumala in about 25-30 minutes, similar time taken for downhill. The thing I do is, I follow lane driving and change lanes only for overtaking. It makes driving thru the hills so much fun.

I was there last June (7-June-2014), going on 17-Oct with Darshan tickets for 18-Oct.

[Inquilab28]

Originally Posted by IndianNomad

Drove to Tirumala recently.
Both ways couple of vehicles overtook me including local taxis and private vehicles. For sure they have reached before time as I myself managed to reach the gates almost at the prescribed time limits but didn't notice anybody being fined.
But these time restrictions helps people in reminding them not to hurry, which was in my case.

The cops are not very stringent on this. Our guy just explained him that we had to catch a train and he just smiled and let us go. The important thing is this will be a deterrent for the drivers. I guess this should be followed suit in other ghat areas like Srisailam too. Kudos to the TTD to have come up with this.

[rki2007]

Around 2 months back, I had been to Tirumala. I did speed up a bit to enter the Q on time which resulted in reaching Tirumala earlier by 2 mins, the Cops stopped me but finally let me go.

They told me that they will have a record of the car registration number and next time when I visit Tirumala, I will surely have to pay penalty.

Dont know whether this is true!

[simplyself]

Originally Posted by rki2007

Around 2 months back, I had been to Tirumala. I did speed up a bit to enter the Q on time which resulted in reaching Tirumala earlier by 2 mins, the Cops stopped me but finally let me go.

They told me that they will have a record of the car registration number and next time when I visit Tirumala, I will surely have to pay penalty.

Dont know whether this is true!

This rule has been in place since a few years. 28 minutes towards Tirumala and 40 minutes to Alipiri.

I don't know whether any vehicle is barred for flouting this time but I have heard unconfirmed reports about denying such vehicle in its next trip to Tirumala.

The last time I visited Tirumala was on 16 May, 2018. We went up on foot from Srivari mettu side. While coming down, we boarded a Sumo taxi. The driver was careful not to reach the check point at Alipiri before the mandatory 40 minutes. Even the RTC buses follow this rule.

The first ghat road is full of bends and this 40 minute rule sure cools down many drivers. Even with this precaution, one hears a mishap happening now and then.