[chaudh2s]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Fasttags not being accepted on both our flagship EWs' is actually a discomfort on these otherwise world class roads. A friend who works there told me that there is some kind of a reconciliation issue which has put their implementation on hold, which is likely to be resolved soon.

Secondly, what was your FE during the onward and return journey? How many passengers and what speeds on did you maintain on 4 laners/EWs?

From Gurgaon to Varanasi was 13.8 tankful to tankful, 4 adults on board and speeds not exceeding 100-110kmph on 4 laners/EWs. Return was via ALE and i was doing 125-130 kmph with very strong headwinds throughout. The FE on this leg should be around 11 though i didn't calculate for return leg. I tanked up in varanasi and the 80 lt tank almost got empty when i reached gurgaon after driving around 850km's. The high speeds and wind contributing to the lower FE during return journey IMO.

[Road_Tripper]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Bihar Tourism's Hotel Kaimur Vihar at Mohania is a viable option, ~75 km further ahead of the Ganga Bridge on NH19 at Varanasi.

Nothing is better than your suggestion, Dada. Have booked two AC rooms at Rs.1,456 a room. We are hitting the road tomorrow. Shall update the forum with our staying experience at this hotel. Meanwhile, if you have any other specific suggestion, kindly share.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Bihar Tourism's Hotel Kaimur Vihar at Mohania is a viable option, ~75 km further ahead of the Ganga Bridge on NH19 at Varanasi.

Also Sir, Am confused between these two, you mind to sort this,

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/...6!4d83.6200078

Or

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/...63!4d83.623353

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by Road_Tripper

Also Sir, Am confused between these two, you mind to sort this,

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/...6!4d83.6200078

Or

https://www.google.co.in/maps/place/...63!4d83.623353

I think both those pins are wrong. It's located to the right of the highway as you travel east, on the highway itself. You could perhaps update the location on Google once you are there.

[Road_Tripper]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I think both those pins are wrong. It's located to the right of the highway as you travel east, on the highway itself. You could perhaps update the location on Google once you are there.

Sure thats helpful. I pinned these two basis the images on the Bihar Tourism site. I essentially then have to take au turn kind to be able to reach to the property, is it?

[PriyanCAR]

Would be travelling with family from kolkata to lucknow this week. How safe are the current conditions for a night drive ? P.S I am accustomed to night drives, mainly on NH16 and NH34

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by PriyanCAR

Would be travelling with family from kolkata to lucknow this week. How safe are the current conditions for a night drive ? P.S I am accustomed to night drives, mainly on NH16 and NH34

If you start early from Kolkata, you are likely to reach Allahabad or say somewhere beyond Varanasi by dark.
NH-19 is safe for night driving between Varanasi-Delhi. So I would suggest taking Kanpur route to Lucknow rather than take Raibareli route from Allahabad, which is normally suggested by map.

[PriyanCAR]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

If you start early from Kolkata, you are likely to reach Allahabad or say somewhere beyond Varanasi by dark.
NH-19 is safe for night driving between Varanasi-Delhi. So I would suggest taking Kanpur route to Lucknow rather than take Raibareli route from Allahabad, which is normally suggested by map.

I was actually thinking of starting from Kolkata at around dinner time so that I would be able to reach Lucknow by afternoon / early evening. Would request you to kindly opine on the feasibility of the same ( especially concerned about driving through Jharkhand and Bihar at night) .

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by PriyanCAR

I was actually thinking of starting from Kolkata at around dinner time so that I would be able to reach Lucknow by afternoon / early evening. Would request you to kindly opine on the feasibility of the same ( especially concerned about driving through Jharkhand and Bihar at night) .

Its all depend upon person and how well he is acquainted with the route. If you are driving for first time I would suggest start late night, say 00:00 Hrs so that you enter Jharkhand- Bihar border in morning and still manage to reach Lucknow by 19:00 hrs.

If you have driven before on this stretch and car is in really good conditions, you may still chose to leave after dinner.

In short not so safe but people do travel in night, SS-Traveller and me included.

[Sail]

Dear All,

Completed Gurgaon to Kolkata trip 2 days back with one day stop over at Varanasi, and here is my travel summary in very short…

First day’s route: Gurgaon-JEW-ALE-Etawah Connector-Etawah-Kanpur (elevated road)-Allahabad by pass-Handia-Varanasi.

This trip was with family; hence it was a pleasure drive at an easy going pace (but could not resist at ALE and used my bimmer’s full two ton potential).

Departed Gurgaon sector 49 around 0730 hrs. Reached JEW around 0845. Pre-planned stop at Jolly boy Restaurant for breakfast as well as we packed up lunch from Subway. With some delay at Subway, departed by 1030 hrs.

Same old story at JEW, stuck up at 100 kph only….

It’s a 76 km stretch from Agra till Etawah connector. Unlike my last year trip, joining/landing at Etawah connector is now operational. Toll given for this 76 km is INR 190/- .

Road condition from this point till Etawah is average (25-30 km stretch) with two lanes. Road condition improves after Etawah with 3 lanes.

Kanpur to Allahabad sector: Fuel top-up at Reliance bunk approx. 5-6 kms after you get down from elevated road, on the left. At the same place we completed our packed lunch around 1430 hrs. This section is having excellent road, two lanes, but need to be cautious for local traffic, specially bikers.

Allahabad by-pass was a bliss to drive, but traffic has increased compared to 8 months back what I have seen.

Last 90 kms or so, from Handia to Varanasi is in poor shape. Nos of diversions has increased, poorly paved road, heavy evening traffic & dusty conditions reduced my average speed to merely 50-60 kmh.

Reached Hotel Grapevine at Padao/Ramnagar around 2100 hrs.

After a day’s halt at Varanasi for Puja, evening boat ride, Arti darshan, departed Varanasi on third day morning at 0830 hrs, completed breakfast at hotel itself.

Fuel top-up at Reliance bunk, approx. 25 kms from my hotel on left.
Road section from Varanasi to Bihar border remain as pain, no. of diversions has reduced, but humps and local traffic reduced our average speed. And then finally got caught up in heavy traffic jam at Dehri on Sone.
Reason: Numerous tractors running around to pick up sand from dried river bed. So, empty tractors on our side & filled ones on north bound side. They are just everywhere, like mosquitoes. Ended up in 1 hr 15 min delay due to this jam.

Road condition in Bihar is excellent, and mostly concrete road. No complains, a major improvement from last year.

Had lunch at a nice family hotel in Bihar close to Jharkhand border, name: Hotel Neel Kamal. It’s 220 km from Varanasi, on the left side. It’s a safe hotel for family with nice freshly cooked foods. Veg & Non-Veg both were available. Saw 2/3 families there too. If you want to delay your lunch, then next option will be Quality Inn, approx. 140 kms down south on the NH-2 in JH.



At Initial phase, Jharkhand road is in very good shape, however things deteriorated afterwards (last 60-70 kms) with lots on ups/down and poorly patched-up roads.

Entered WB with sunset on the horizon. Merely 2/3 confusing diversions around Asansol and had a smooth drive till home. Hiccups at Santragachi / Kona expressway continues. Reached Ballygunge @ 2230 hrs.

Compared to my last year drive from Kolkata-Delhi, road conditions in Bihar & JH has improved a Lot. Only issue was scorching heat in UP & Bihar. Faces heavy rain fall in JH.

Hope above helps.

Cheers..
Sail

[no1lives4ever]

I am planning to do a repeat trip from Delhi to Kolkata this weekend. Given that this is rainy season, I would like to know how that affects this route. Can I expect to see more traffic jams due to rains? Or will the roads have lesser 2 wheelers in case there is any rain.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Bihar Tourism's Hotel Kaimur Vihar at Mohania is a viable option, ~75 km further ahead of the Ganga Bridge on NH19 at Varanasi.

Originally Posted by Road_Tripper

Nothing is better than your suggestion, Dada. Have booked two AC rooms at Rs.1,456 a room. We are hitting the road tomorrow. Shall update the forum with our staying experience at this hotel. Meanwhile, if you have any other specific suggestion, kindly share.

I am thinking of doing a night halt at this place. Is the hotel safe for women & family? Do they have decent food? Also how far is it from the highway? Google Maps reports it to be on the Highway, but I remember that there were not too many exits around Mohania. I guess going to this place would take as much time as getting into Varanasi. And the next day one could end up saving 1-2 hours by not starting from inside Varanasi.

-- no1lives4ever

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by no1lives4ever

Can I expect to see more traffic jams due to rains? Or will the roads have lesser 2 wheelers in case there is any rain.

Less 2-wheelers - only when it is raining. More traffic jams - certainly.

I am thinking of doing a night halt at this place. Is the hotel safe for women & family? Do they have decent food? Also how far is it from the highway?

It is on the highway itself, and though I have never personally tayed here overnight, I have never heard of any untoward incidents involving families & women travellers who have stayed here. The food served at their restaurant is apparently decent too, but needs prior notice to be prepared IIRC.

[no1lives4ever]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

It is on the highway itself, and though I have never personally tayed here overnight, I have never heard of any untoward incidents involving families & women travellers who have stayed here. The food served at their restaurant is apparently decent too, but needs prior notice to be prepared IIRC.

I booked 2 rooms for my trip and was told to inform them when I start about dinner. The last orders are till 10pm, but the person at the other end told me that in case we are getting late, we could order food and have that ready in the room.

-- no1lives4ever

[SS-Traveller]

Back on the road, driving from Kolkata to Delhi, in a Thar this Monday-Tuesday (20-21 August). The usual non-stop drive (well, yes, we stopped for fuel and food & loo visits!). Left Kolkata (Teghoria) at 8:10 pm, and was immediately snared in a traffic jam that took us a full hour to get on to the Belghoria Expressway. To add to the delay, I missed the left ramp for Nivedita Setu and headed to Bally Bridge. Very luckily, the traffic was smooth (though a little slow), and we were not held up.



Progress was good till almost Topchachi, when the sky opened up and torrential rain began - all the way to Dobhi. This new dashboard console on the Thar has a major defect - the bright bluish-white light completely ruins one's night vision, and there is no way to dim it or turn it off.

We crossed the Sone river at dawn, and the road was good enough to make decent progress, right up until the Ganga river bridge.



Soon after (about half an hour after a quick stop at the Satkar Restaurant - no food available, and they tried to sell us tea for Rs.50!!)...



...we came up to our first humongous traffic jam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgpNdWSRWXs

This continued till the Handia toll gate and somewhat beyond, on to the Allahabad Bypass, where the oncoming truck traffic was backed up in a jam for about 15 km, with traffic coming the wrong way too.

After this it was smooth sailing. Stopped for lunch at the end of the Allahabad Bypass...



...and connected to the ALE at Karhal, from Etawah via Saifai at 7 pm. 4 uneventful hours later, we were home.

[SS-Traveller]

https://youtu.be/s5zCTuiBC8M

Here's one more speeded-up video from another part of the Benaras-to-Allahabad section of the highway. Ghastly roads, nightmarish traffic jams, and steep tolls.

Apart from the price one pays for the toll, this road so reminds me of the NH2 through Bihar & UP in the late 90s and early 2000s. Traffic jams were the norm rather than the exception, and a light motor vehicle managed to get past long lines of trucks only by going off the tarmac or driving on the wrong side of the undivided road.

Exactly what we were doing here!

Rhetorical question: Why does the government collect toll for a bad road? While upgrading work is in progress, shouldn't the toll collection be suspended?

Let me see if I can't bypass this section entirely, with some planning on a map...

[SS-Traveller]

https://youtu.be/ULxbMTixcRY

So, as we enter the Allahabad Bypass from the Handia side, heading west towards Kanpur, the jam on the other side of the road (eastbound carriageway towards Benaras) runs for miles. Many resourceful locals and truck drivers manage to switch over to the opposite carriageway (heading west), and the situation is quite scary at times.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Let me see if I can't bypass this section entirely, with some planning on a map...

So here's the route plan to bypass this section of the NH19:
https://goo.gl/maps/AKRGhXvrB1n



This involves entering Allahabad city, crossing the Yamuna river to Naini, then taking the NH35 along the other bank of the Ganga River via Manda Road (erstwhile PM VP Singh's constituency) and Mirzapur, and finally connecting back to the NH19 at Bhitti.

I have taken this route over 2 decades ago, not recently, but I don't expect traffic to be as bad as on the NH19 - someone has to travel this route and report back here. The trick would be to enter Allahabad city before dawn, and cross this section in the early hours of the morning, to avoid the local traffic in the area.