Pune - Kolkata - Pune: Car Trip

[Amlan]

Dear all,
Always dreamed of diving back home to the other side of the country.
But till date it was either a train or a plane. After years of driving small or long, here I am planning my first cross country. It’s from Pune to my home-town Kolkata. Planning for almost a month now and another 5 months to go….. So a long planning phase just to make sure everything is nicely planned out!! Below are the details!

Cities: Pune to Kolkata and back!
Distance: 1900 kms per side (3800 kms in all)
Time: 1st week of October’2016
Car Model: WagonR 2006 model (CNG + Petrol) LXi BSIII AC

Car Condition: (THE GOOD PARTs) All 4 new absorbers, 4 new tubeless tires, new steering column, new steering rack, new lower arms, Engine OK – doing good as of now. (NOW THE NOT SO GOOD PARTS). Body roll (tall boy), car gets very light above 100km/hr (so the average top speeds with be 90s and cursing at 80s), not so strong headlights, rattling noise from dashboard/door panels while on bad roads but overall not much rattling on plain roads. (OVERALL CONDITION 3/5)

Do I want to take my own car – Yes. I don’t want to rent a car and do this trip.
Do I really want to do this trip – Yes. Very excited.
Co passenger – My better half & luggage for 2 weeks’ vacation (on backseat). CNG tank ate up all boot space

Is my wife excited too – She is, like me
Alternate driving? – No I am the only one behind the wheel. My wife is still learning her first gear.

Do I know the challenges of such trip – Yes, I understand how stressful it can be. I can keep myself calm and composed although I haven’t done this long a trip before. And I know I am the only driver.

Previous experiences – All 400 – 500 Kms 1 day trips in and around Maharashtra in my own car, few times

Time preference – Mostly want to drive in day light, until necessary to drive at night
Plans to combat stress – Frequent 10-15 mins break every 100km, Good music, Topics for chit chat, trying out local foods, Lots of photography and lots of water!

Ok, so now that I have answered question that you may want to ask me…. Following is my primary route plan

 Pune – Nagpur | 750 kms | 5am start – 7pm end
 Nagpur – Sambalpur | 575 kms | 6am start – 6pm end
 Sambalpur – Kolkata | 575 kms | 6am start – 7pm end

Same halts while coming back

Trail: Pune – Ahmednagar – Aurangabad – Jalna – Mehkar – Karanja – Amaravati – Nagpur – Raipur – Sambalpur – Keonjhar – Baharagora/Gopiballabpur – Kharagpur – Home

Same trail while returning.

Now, I want all your inputs, tips, suggestions, do’s and don’ts, alternate plans, best practices and everything you can throw at me. Also, if anyone have done this trip before, kindly share your experiences please. That would be wonderful. Eagerly awaiting your inputs !

 

[Chandranath]

Re: Pune - Kolkata - Pune ---- Car Trip

Great plan. Adequately spaced out.
All the best and enjoy the drive

 

[vishalpsali]

Nice Plan. I recently did Panvel - Bangalore (960 kms) split over 2 days in my Wagon R. Based on my experience I feel the times that you have planned for the sectors are perfectly realistic.


And Wagon R definitely feels light @ 100km/hr. So just stick to 80-90 kmph. This also ensures that you follow our highway speed limits :-).


The below link will help you find the number of toll booths that you will come across and the total toll that you will pay to reach Kolkata.
http://nhtis.org/map.htm#


Also ensure you get good sleep before starting the days drive. This will make the journey less stressful or probably more joyful. Haha!!


Enjoy the drive.

 

[Amlan]

Re: Pune - Kolkata - Pune ---- Car Trip

Great plan. Adequately spaced out.
All the best and enjoy the drive

Thanks Chandra for your wishes

My bigger worry is my car. Will the car be able to take the stress for 3 days + 3 days again after 2 weeks !

 

[Amlan]

Nice Plan. I recently did Panvel - Bangalore (960 kms) split over 2 days in my Wagon R. Based on my experience I feel the times that you have planned for the sectors are perfectly realistic.


And Wagon R definitely feels light @ 100km/hr. So just stick to 80-90 kmph. This also ensures that you follow our highway speed limits :-).


The below link will help you find the number of toll booths that you will come across and the total toll that you will pay to reach Kolkata.
http://nhtis.org/map.htm#


Also ensure you get good sleep before starting the days drive. This will make the journey less stressful or probably more joyful. Haha!!


Enjoy the drive.

Hey Vishal, thankyou so much! Nice inputs and the toll website is very informative. Already calculated the toll for one way approx. Its coming to little above Rs. 500/- for a side.

But............. How about the roads after Nagpur ? Any idea of the stretch between Nagpur and Sambalpur and then from Sambalpur to Kharagpur ?

Any help would be great !

Plus the other concern is love for my car. I at times wonder that the car doesn't shred like cheese over a shredder till the reach the other side of the country !

 

[vishalpsali]

Hi,

No idea about the road conditions on that stretch. My guess would be that the roads won't be bad as there seems to b a lot of toll booths on ur way which in turn may mean that the roads are maintained.

Also do not worry about the blue eyed boy (wagon r). It can certainly withstand the 500-700 kms that u r planning for a day. Last week itself I have driven my waggy just over 3k kms in 6 days.

 

[Amlan]

Hi,

No idea about the road conditions on that stretch. My guess would be that the roads won't be bad as there seems to b a lot of toll booths on ur way which in turn may mean that the roads are maintained.

Also do not worry about the blue eyed boy (wagon r). It can certainly withstand the 500-700 kms that u r planning for a day. Last week itself I have driven my waggy just over 3k kms in 6 days.

Yea, thanks Vishal, I had the same thoughts on the toll count along. But the CG - OR border area I heard was in very bad shape. No toll booth there just testifies that as well. Lets see !

BTW, mine is not a blue eyed boy, older version....... none the less, its from the WagonR stable

 

[Rahul401]

Some useful tips:

1) Keep spare spectacles if you wear one. Trust me, it can be a life saver.
2) Tool Kit.
3) Fluids for car i.e. coolant, engine oil.
4) Contact numbers of MASS on the way.
5) Just do a general check up at MASS before you leave from Kolkatta so you have peace of mind while driving your car.
6) Don't drive at high speeds even if the road seems tempting.
7) Don't trust Google maps only. Ask the local people as well for directions.
8) If you are planning to service the car, do it couple of weeks ago before the trip. If you observe any kind of problems post servicing, you will have time to rectify it.
9) Keep general medicines and first aid kit handy.

 

[NileshK]

Great plan.
Have safe and happy journey. Take refreshments after regular intervals.

As you have CNG + Petrol have you identified CNG pumps on route? Please do it if you want to save on your expenses.

 

[Amlan]

Some useful tips:

1) Keep spare spectacles if you wear one. Trust me, it can be a life saver.
2) Tool Kit.
3) Fluids for car i.e. coolant, engine oil.
4) Contact numbers of MASS on the way.
5) Just do a general check up at MASS before you leave from Kolkatta so you have peace of mind while driving your car.
6) Don't drive at high speeds even if the road seems tempting.
7) Don't trust Google maps only. Ask the local people as well for directions.
8) If you are planning to service the car, do it couple of weeks ago before the trip. If you observe any kind of problems post servicing, you will have time to rectify it.
9) Keep general medicines and first aid kit handy.

Thanks Rahul... worthy tips ! Every one of them.
Yes personally I am big follower of point 6. But there is a concern! What if the road dosnt seem to end after endless driving? I mean to say - the route passes through towns and villages.. so the average speed will keep dipping every time I cross one My biggest concern, is the road condition. Bad roads slow things down tremendously in such long journey !

Great plan.
Have safe and happy journey. Take refreshments after regular intervals.

As you have CNG + Petrol have you identified CNG pumps on route? Please do it if you want to save on your expenses.

Thanks Nilesh. Any idea of the road condition ?

 

[Nanofreak]

^^ @Amlan, enjoy your trip, WagonR is sturdy at sane speeds, did Kanpur Gurgaon last year on my WagonR, covered 500+km in 7+hours, as Rahul401 has correctly advised stick to those basic points, I will only add one thing buy a tire inflator and a pen type air pressure measure, and you are good to go.

 

[Amlan]

^^ @Amlan, enjoy your trip, WagonR is sturdy at sane speeds, did Kanpur Gurgaon last year on my WagonR, covered 500+km in 7+hours, as Rahul401 has correctly advised stick to those basic points, I will only add one thing buy a tire inflator and a pen type air pressure measure, and you are good to go.

Good point Nanofreak !
500km in 7 hours is good for a small car. Then again, road between Kanpur - Delhi is best !

My major concerns is my lack of knowledge on road condition after Nagpur till WB border.

Do you have any idea? Or do you know any person who have done this trip before ?

Specially the Nagpur - Kolkata part! (In recent times)

 

[akhilesh]

Hello All,

I am planning for a Kolkata to Pune Trip with my 2 year old Honda City (Petrol) Car on coming January 2017.
I am very much confused about the route.
I have searched on various forums but still not able to decide which route i should take.

Route 1: Kolkata-Kharagpur-Sambalpur-Raipur-Nagpur-Amaravati-Aurangabad-Pune
Route 2: Kolkata-Bhubaneshwar-Vishkhapatnam-Rajamundry-Vijayawada-Hyderabad-Kalaburagi-Solapur-Pune

Route 2 is around 230 Km longer but google shows the travelling time difference is only 1 hour.
Route 1 is showing 33 hours journey and Route 2 is showing 34 hours journey.
I am confused which route i should choose.

The main concern is if i take Route 1 then what is the condition of road between Kharagpur and Nagpur. Is it safe to pass the lodhasuli jungle area around 7 am in early morning as i am planning to leave Kolkata by 4 am morning. Also i am planning to make the stop in Raipur as one of my friend lives there. Will i able to cover the Raipur till 7 PM.

Now the concern with Route 2 is i have seen in many forums that all of the route is great and roads are great except the road from Hyderabad to Sholapur. What is the condition of this stretch now. Please suggest.


Please provide your input and let me know which route i should take and what precautions.
I am travelling with one of my friend, so there are two men only.

 

[GrandRk]

To know the condition between Hyderabad - Pune you can refer my comments dated 7th Nov 2016 on http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/travel-itinerary/2925-pune-hyderabad-advise-required.html

But take my word and don't ever travel via Hyderabad - Sangareddy - Zaheerabad - Omerga - Solapur. Its literally terrible !!

 

[akhilesh]

Thank GrandRk for your suggestions. If anyone can provide the input regarding Route 1 via Nagpur, will be great.