[Journey Review] NWKRTC Volvo B11R I-Shift Multiaxle Semi Sleeper : Belagavi - Bengaluru

11:34:00 PM Biswajit SVM Chaser 0 Comments

Journey Day : 

It was 22nd May 2018 - the journey day to Bengaluru. I boarded an auto-rickshaw from my home, at Maratha Colony, Tilakwadi (Belagavi), at 11 am on my way to CBT. A ten minutes auto ride, chit-chatting with a friendly auto driver, I reached CBT at around 11:10 am, 50 minutes ahead of departure timing of 12:05 pm. The Belagavi CBT as of now is operating in a make-shift temporary terminal, as the new terminus construction work is under progress, and is expected to be completed and operational by end of 2019, according to sources. 

After reaching CBT, I took a seat at the departure shed of the bus terminal platform, where the coach was scheduled to arrive. NWKRTC have set up small enquiry hubs at the terminal apart from the dedicated enquiry booth. Upon being enquired at the hub, the official confirmed me the departure platform number of my coach and told me to be seated till the bus arrives. I noticed a passenger approaching the enquiry hub, and asking about the 12:05 pm Volvo Coach departure details. A NWKRTC Volvo crew, who was present at the hub, verified his printed ticket against his ID Card. I decided to verify my ticket and approached the crew. The crew verified my ticket against my Aadhar Card. Although tickets are generally verified before boarding the coach or inside the coach, but it seemed me to me, a bit unprofessional to get my ticket getting verified at a enquiry hub. But anyways, it is fine as it was done abiding the rules as printed on the ticket. 

At 11:45 am, the NWKRTC Airavat Club Class B11R arrived at the bus bay platform. The new make-shift temporary shed is congested, and the coach stopped at a distance from the bay, in front of a Karnataka Sarige luxury coach, which was already parked at the designated bus bay, from which our bus are scheduled to depart. It added to the awes of carrying the luggage again for some meters to reach the coach. I felt this was a common problem at the temporary terminal as there were limited bus bays being built just to serve the travelling people till the new terminal gets ready and opened to general public in 2019. 

After boarding my cargo luggage at the side luggage compartment of the coach, I boarded the B11R coach with my hand baggage, and took my reserved seat on the first row of the coach behind the coach driver. To my surprise i met my old friend, Mr Liyaqat Ali Hosur, the Volvo In Charge, of NWKRTC Belagavi Depot, who came to meet me inside the coach. I called him in the morning, same day, asking him to come to the departure terminal for a meet, if his time permits in his hectic daily schedule. It was really very nice of him to come and meet me personally. Mr Hosur has helped me a lot, to get technical information regarding Volvo buses and its functional parts. Hosur introduced me to the onboard crew. It was around 12 noon, and we were suppose to depart at 12:05 pm scheduled time. I bid goodbye to Hosur and took my reserved seat. The coach finally left at 12:10 pm from Belagavi CBT, after a 5 mins normal delay due to late passenger arrival. 

Soon we touched the NH4 highway towards Bengaluru, crossing Belagavi city outskirts. A Kannada movie - "Anjaniputra" was being played inside the coach, featuring Kannada superstars. The NWKRTC Volvo B11R Coach is a newly inducted in January 2018. Two such coaches were inducted together in the NWKRTC fleet at Belagavi Depot. The coach has semi sleeper seats with calf support for a comfortable and luxurious ride. Amenities provided inside the coach are 500 ml mineral water bottle and blankets (during night travel). The interiors were clean and perfumated with a well maintained decorum. USB - mobile chargers were being provided for each row in the centre between two seats.

We crossed Hire-Bagewadi Ghat Section and reached Bagewadi Toll Plaza at around 12:34 pm. The 6 lane NH4 highway stretch between Belagavi and Dharwad with serene green sugarcane harvest on both sideways is a real feast for a traveller. 

The B11R was cruising at a safe sedate speed of around 80 kmph. The driving was very safe and pleasant. We entered Dharwad City at 1:15 pm. There was a pick up done at Dharwad new bus stand. Soon we departed towards Hubballi, touching Hubballi - Dharwad NH4 bypass highway stretch. Our coach entered Hubballi new bus stand at 2 pm. After a scheduled passenger pick up and a halt of around 10 minutes, the B11R was on its way to the final pick-up point - the Hubballi Old Bus Stand near Chennamma Circle. The coach entered Hubballi old bus stand at 2:19 pm. Here, there were many passengers who boarded the coach. I saw an Air Conditioned passenger lounge, at the Hubballi old bus stand built by NWKRTC for passengers travelling by premium Air Conditioned Coaches. It's indeed an appreciable step taken by NWKRTC in providing proper passenger amenities and shelter at public bus stands. Finally at 2:30 pm, we left Hubballi old bus stand towards Bengaluru. We touched the NH4 highway leaving Hubballi city outskirts at around 2:42 pm in the afternoon. After a 20 minutes ride, our coach halted at "Kamat Upachar", near Varur, Hubballi City limits at 3:00 pm for lunch and bio-break. "Kamat Upachar" is a well maintained pure vegetarian restaurant near NH4 serving good vegetarian food and having clean washrooms. 

To my surprise, I met my well known bus crew from VRL, Mr Nazir Makandar, while getting down the coach, who was driving his VRL Volvo B9R Multiaxle Sleeper coach doing Bengaluru - Ahmedabad. After exchanging good wishes and greetings with him, and a small chit-chat, Nazeer left with his VRL Coach towards Ahmedabad. After a half an hour lunch break at "Kamat Upachar", we set off for Bengaluru at 3:30 pm. 

Since I had my lunch at home, I was enjoying my bus ride with a small snack packet - a local snack called "Kodubale" which was salty and tasty, and was made locally in Karnataka. I dozed off to sleep, to get up near Hiriyur. Around 6:30 pm in the evening after a 3 hour continuous drive, we stopped for a tea cum bio-break at "KSRTC Atitya Midway Plaza" near Hiriyur. We were joined by other KSRTC Volvo B7R Airavat Coaches and KSRTC Karnataka Sarige luxury coaches going towards Bengaluru, who also stopped for a tea break at the Plaza. I was hungry, so i opted for a "Masala Chat" along with my evening tea. After a 25 minutes tea / bio-break, it was time to cover our last stretch non-stop enroute Bengaluru. Finally at 6:55 pm, we were on NH4 highway again. There was a highway passenger drop near Tumkuru (Tumkur) bypass as we drove towards Bengaluru. We entered Bengaluru City Outskirts, crossing Neelamangala at 09:10 pm. With a regular weekday Bengaluru traffic chaos, we reached Majestic Bus Stand at around 9:40 pm, where i was suppose to get down. I greeted the Volvo Crew driver - A Thank You and a Goodbye, before getting down the coach at Majestic. It was a pleasant day/night journey by NWKRTC Airavat Club Class B11R multiaxle and I look forward to undertake the journey on this coach again, on my next trip to Bengaluru. 

Summary and Ratings :