NWKRTC Airavat Club Class Volvo B11R I-Shift Multiaxle Semi Sleeper doing Belagavi - Bengaluru - Chennai on NH4, near Halaga, Belagavi, Karnataka 

I was on a four day official trip to Bengaluru. It was time to book a return journey back to Belagavi. With a hectic schedule on my planner, and considering a departure time suitable to me, i decided to book my ticket on regular tourmate - SRS Travels Mercedes Benz Multiaxle schedule at 22:30 hrs from Bengaluru. I choosed my usual front row (Seat Number A2 encircled in red in the seating layout shown below) behind the driver, booking my ticket from the SRS Online ticketing portal. The coach has a departure time of 22:30 hrs from SRS terminal, Anand Rao Circle, Bengaluru, and the estimated arrival time at Belagavi is 06:45 hrs in the morning next day. An 8 hours 15 minutes scheduled journey covering around 500 kms without any dinner break. 

It was the journey day on 6th May 2018. It was a Sunday and I had a few work to wind up my Bengaluru visit, before returning back to Belagavi. Finishing up my work, I arrived at 22:00 hrs at SRS bus terminus located at Anand Rao Circle - half an hour ahead of scheduled departure of my bus to Belagavi. The coach always makes a delayed departure on this schedule as it is a 15 mtr long vehicle, and it is very difficult to enter and park the Mercedes Benz, at a hectic bus departure schedule at the terminus. I expected an 15 minutes delay of the coach to arrive at around 22:45 hrs and an half hour departure delay at 23:00 hrs. It was 5 minutes past 22:45 hrs, I was still waiting at the terminus for my bus to arrive. At around 23:00 hrs, the Mercedes Benz Super High Deck arrived at the SRS terminus, delayed by 45 minutes from its reporting time of 22:15 hrs. 

As the coach reversed for parking at the terminus, passengers approached it for boarding. After handing over my cargo baggage to the bus crew against the baggage tag, i boarded the coach with my hand baggage and took my assigned seat no : A2 (window) on the first row of the coach. On the driving seat, was my known crew, Mr Ramachandra, from Belagavi. With a smile on his face, Ramachandra greeted me, as i boarded the coach. My ticket was checked by the ticket checker, as an usual routine. At 23:15 hrs, the Mercedes coach finally departed from Anand Rao Circle. There were passenger pick ups at Yesvanthpur and Neelamangala. At 00:00 hrs, midnight we left Bengaluru outskirts on our way to Belagavi. 

The SRS Mercedes Benz Multiaxle is my regular tourmate between Belagavi and Bengaluru, and i had done numerous trips on the same coach, previously. Its a multiaxle seater coach, with individual blankets provided on each seat, although i prefer a semi-sleeper seating coach, for better comfort and luxury. The mobile charging points were kept 'ON' as predicted. Mercedes Benz has a good suspension to travel with, complimented by good maneuverability on the highway, keeping in mind its a 15 mtr long coach. The driving was sedate and safe. I was quite acquainted with Ramachandra's driving, as i had undertaken numerous to-and-fro trips along with him, between Bengaluru and Belagavi. 

At 02:30 hrs, we stopped at a near by roadside hotel for a quick tea and bio-break. There was no toilet / bathrooms for the passengers at the stop, which generally causes problems for the passengers and especially on-board lady passengers, as obviously. After a 15 minutes break, we were on the highway again, on our way to Belagavi. I dozed-off to sleep, and got up after a three hours nap at around 05:30 hrs, as we entered Hubballi city for a passenger drop. After dropping passengers at Hubballi, we headed towards the highway to enter Dharwad City at around 05:55 hrs for a passenger drop. Finally at 06:15 hrs, we left Dharwad City towards Belagavi. At around 07:00 hrs in the morning, we entered Belagavi City. I de-boarded the bus at Chennamma Circle, bidding a goodbye to Ramachandra, my own Bus Crew, as the further city drop of most buses are cancelled temporarily because of the over-bridge construction near Belagavi Railway Station. 

It was only three days past, that i was back to Belagavi from a three months trip to my native of Guwahati (Assam). There was a sudden plan for a Bengaluru visit on 2nd May 2018, and i was busy packing my bags and scheduling a journey plan. Having taken continuous to and fro journeys with my regular tourmate - SRS Travels, I decided to try a VRL Volvo B9R Multiaxle this time, to Bengaluru. With the holiday season on, and buses going totally packed, it was almost difficult to find seats in the front rows of buses. As i searched on the VRL Online portal, I selected a Belagavi origin VRL Volvo B9R Multiaxle to Bengaluru, with departure timing of 21:00 hrs from Triveni, Belagavi with an estimated arrival time of 06:15 hrs in the morning, at Anand Rao Circle, Bengaluru. With almost a packed bus, I booked my seat in the second last row of the coach on the VRL online bus ticket portal (Seat No : 40 encircled in red in the seating layout shown below). 

I hopped on an auto rickshaw near my home, at Maratha Colony, Tilakwadi, Belagavi to Triveni, which was my departure point for the VRL Volvo to Bengaluru. I reached the boarding point at 20:00 hrs, one hour before the scheduled departure of my bus. After waiting for around half an hour, the VRL Volvo with their traditional yellow livery KA25 C 9347 arrived at the departure point. It was an  estimated 6 year old Volvo B9R Multiaxle, maintained in an excellent way. 

I handed over my cargo baggage to the Bus Crew and boarded the coach. I took my seat on the second last row of the coach, beside the right hand rear emergency exit. The VRL B9R was a semi sleeper coach with calf-support. Blankets were provided for each semi sleeper seat. I checked the mobile charging points. It was kept 'ON' as predicted. An usual ticket-check was done by a VRL official, followed by a gestured 'Thank You' greeting, which i generally miss on the buses of other operators. VRL Crew have good social gestures of greeting the passengers and behaving very well, which makes the travelers happy, thus preferring to travel more on VRL Coaches, over other operators. 

There was a delay of around 10 minutes from the scheduled departure timing of 21:00 hrs, due to late passenger arrival. At around 21:10 hrs, we finally left Triveni. There was a pick up at Gandhinagar, before we finally hit the NH4 highway at around 21:25 hrs, towards Dharwad, enroute Bengaluru. The driving was sedate with the Volvo multiaxle cruising at an average speed of around 70 - 80 kmph. A well dressed in-uniform VRL crew gets disciplined driving and crew management training at their headquarters at Varur, Hubballi, which makes them perfect for their job. No movie was played on the coach, as it was a late night service, and passengers generally prefer to sleep without disturbance. At 22:25, the VRL B9R took the Dharwad City diversion from NH4 highway for a pick up. After a regular pick up at Dharwad VRL departure point, we left for Hubballi at 22:55 hrs. After half an hour, the coach entered Hubballi, where the last pick up was done. At 23:50 hrs, our coach finally hit the NH4 highway again towards Bengaluru. An one and half hour was spent entering and doing the regulatory passenger pick ups at Hubbali-Dharwad twin cities. Most Belagavi origin premium AC Coaches of the various fleet operators cater to Hubballi-Dharwad passenger pick up as an operation strategy. 

Driving on a good average speed, soon we crossed Hubballi City limits, Haveri and Davangere By Pass. I dozed off to sleep, after Davangere to wake up near Chitradurga VRL Rest Stop. It was around 03:00 hrs, early morning. The VRL rest stop is a check point for VRL buses equipped with proper facilities for toilets for gents and ladies, and snack-shops. Its a huge facility with VRL's own petrol pumps for refueling their buses. After a 15 minute break at Chitradurga at VRL rest stop, we again set off towards Bengaluru at around 03:15 hrs. Crossing Tumkuru city limits, we reached Bengaluru outskirts early morning at around 05:15 hrs. With regular passenger drops at 8th cross, Jalahalli cross, Yesvanthpur and Navrang, we finally reached Anand Rao Circle at 06:30 hrs, where i was suppose to get down. The VRL Volvo reached on time, with only 15 minutes delay of its scheduled arrival timing of 06:15 hrs. I got down the coach, collected my cargo baggage against the baggage tag, greeted the VRL crew - a thank you, before leaving to my hotel. 

I was on a three month vacation and trip to my howtown, Guwahati. It was time to plan my return journey back to my workplace, Belagavi (Belgaum). With my flight tickets from Guwahati to Bengaluru done, I was scheduling my onward journey from Bengaluru to Belagavi by bus. With a plethora of premium bus services available on this route on NH4 highway, I planned to book a SRS Scania Metrolink Multiaxle Day / Night Service from Bengaluru. I was accompanied by my mother, who even preferred a day service than taking a night service to Belagavi. 

I booked my ticket on the SRS Online bus ticket booking portal, selecting seats on the second row (Seats number 3 and 4 encircled in red in the seating layout shown below). The SRS Scania Multiaxle had a scheduled departure at 09:00 hrs (09:00 am) in the morning with my boarding point selected at SRS Anand Rao Circle Terminus, Bengaluru. 

I arrived at SRS Bus Terminus located at Anand Rao Circle at around 08:15 hrs in the morning, 45 minutes ahead of scheduled departure timing of 09:00 hrs. At 08:45 hrs, i received a message from SRS Travels stating that the departure timing is now rescheduled at 10:00 hrs. We waited at the passenger departure shade at the terminus with all our belongings for the bus to arrive. The reason of the delayed departure was given as - Bengaluru traffic conditions on the message from SRS. After an one hour delay, the SRS Scania finally arrived at around 09:50 hrs. I handed over my luggage to the bus crew to be kept in the side luggage compartment. Unfortunately the cleaner of the coach spoke to me in an indecent manner, which was totally unprofessional. I took a note of the same to be reported to the concerned authority in SRS. 

Finally at 10:10 hrs, the SRS Scania left Anand Rao Circle towards Pune. With scheduled pick ups on way, it left Bengaluru outskirts at 11:15 hrs. The 14.5 mtr Scania Metrolink is one of the comfortable drivelines to travel in India for a bus passenger. With low NVH levels and a serene comfort and luxury inside the bus, the passenger can feel an ethereal experience onboard the coach. At 12:00 noon, the bus halted at a hotel on NH4, near Bengaluru for a Tea / Bio-Break. 

After half an hour break, we touched the highway again, The driving was sedate and safe. A Hindi movie was being played for passenger entertainment. Soon we crossed Tumkur and Chitradurga on our way to Belagavi. The reclinable semi sleeper seats with the calf support was comfortable for the passenger for a long journey. The mobile charging ports were kept 'ON' throughout the journey. At around 15:15 hrs, our Scania stopped for lunch break near NH4 highway, at Davangere outskirts. The hotel was decent with good food facilities and clean restrooms / toilets. A SRS Volvo B9R I-Shift Multiaxle Sleeper 1357 also came and halted after sometime. The coach was headed towards Bengaluru. After half an hour of lunch break, our Scania departed towards Belagavi, at 15:45 hrs. After having lunch, i felt sleepy and dozed off to wake up near Hubballi at around 17:00 hrs. There was a passenger drop and pick up at the Hubballi bypass, as the bus doesnt go inside Hubballi City. Belagavi was just another one and half hours away from Hubballi. As we approached the NH4 section between Dharwad and Belagavi, the outside climate showed a change from bright sunny to dark clouds approaching fast. As we reached half way between Dharwad and Belagavi, it started raining heavily. At around 18:30 hrs we finally entered Belagavi City limits and at 18:40 hrs we got down at SRS Ramdev. An one hour delay as predicted due to initial delayed departure at Bengaluru. Apart from the initial delay of 1 hour, the Scania made me reach on time, driving in a safe and sedate way. The journey was nice except for the errant bus cleaner behavior, which i had reported to SRS authorities in Belagavi and action was taken at spot in Belagavi. 

Summary and Ratings : 

Orange Volvo B11R Celeste I-Shift Multiaxle Sleeper delivered from Prakash Bus Corporation, Bengaluru.

Orange Volvo B11R Celeste I-Shift Multiaxle Sleeper delivered from Prakash Bus Corporation, Bengaluru.

Orange Volvo B11R Celeste I-Shift Multiaxle Sleeper delivered from Prakash Bus Corporation, Bengaluru.

Orange Volvo B11R Celeste I-Shift Multiaxle Sleeper delivered from Prakash Bus Corporation, Bengaluru.

ORANGE VOLVO B11R CELESTE I-SHIFT MULTIAXLE SLEEPER

ORANGE VOLVO B11R CELESTE I-SHIFT MULTIAXLE SLEEPER

Orange Volvo B11R Celeste I-Shift Multiaxle Sleeper delivered from Prakash Bus Corporation, Bengaluru.

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