There’s absolutely 0 traffic. I encountered 1 car other than me on the whole route and I had nothing to do about it.
BHPian Drdriver recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Recently I shifted base from Banswara, Rajasthan to Bhatinda, Punjab.
I got to use the Amritsar Jamnagar economic corridor on my route.
Driving rulebook I followed:
- Drive at cruising speed. (80-90 kmph)
- AC on to middle setting, blower fixed at 1 or 2 depending on cabin comfort levels. (It’s still hot in the daytime in Rajasthan)
- No hard accelerations except when absolutely required.
- Check all fluids and tyre pressure the first thing in the morning before starting off.
Day 1: Banswara to Jodhpur
It was a flurry of activity in my house as I got a job offer from Bhatinda asking to join within 4 days maximum on Dhanteras. No one refuses when Laxmiji herself comes to your door so I grabbed the opportunity and packed my stuff in 1 day. My uncle, his wife and cousin had come to our place to celebrate. And my grandparents were also moving to Jodhpur from our place with them.
They have a TUV300 and their boot was also jam packed with luggage. I had my grandfather with me riding shotgun.
Early morning post diwali, we left for Jodhpur. Took us 8 hours to reach Jodhpur, inclusive of a brunch stop and 2 tea breaks. My grandparents have been really pleased with the long distance capabilities and sheer ruggedness of the TUV300 and my father’s Mahindra Quanto as it gives them good comfort over bad roads. They had been apprehensive of smaller cars ever since. But on reaching Jodhpur, grandpa couldn’t believe the fatigue-free and comfy ride of the Punch.
Mileage achieved: 21.8kmpl
Stopped for the night in Jodhpur and from here on to Bhatinda I was the lone person travelling.
Day 2: Jodhpur to Bhatinda.
Woke up at 5 am to hit the road by 5:30. Packed food, took the blessings of my elders and started my day. Osian was a paltry 45 kms from their place. As soon as I passed the first toll of Osian, I took a short break for putting some caffeine in my system. (Caffeine for medicos is like fuel for their bodies)
It turned out to be a long break unfortunately as I saw that my DRLs had blown. Curse the t10 LED the aftermarket guy stuck on during mods. Had to YouTube and see how could I put the halogens back into place. An hour wasted right there.
In another 30 mins, I reached the entry point of the expressway.
I had researched and found out that no petrol pumps existed on the road as of Atleast 4 months ago. Just to be on the safe side, I filled up my tank to the absolute brim after autocut. Hit the expressway at 7am precisely.
I had previously driven the Trans Haryana expressway (NH152D) on my way to Banswara 6 months ago but this behemoth of Tarmac is in another league altogether.
It was 350 odd kilometres to Jaitpur where the expressway terminates.
After an hour driving absolutely straight, I knew this wasn’t going to be any easy feat and pulled over at the first rest stop I found.
Was not surprised to see that nothing had been opened since that last update from 4 months ago on YouTube. No fuel, no food, no water. It’s just you, your car, and your own preparedness. Took a small bathroom break and had sandwiches, washed my face and started driving again. 5G connectivity is excellent throughout the route so I called up my friend in Australia (I was sure that the only man doing a long distance drive at the moment other than me in my list would be him.)
We talked for the next 3 hours and that kept me awake and driving continuously.
There’s absolutely 0 traffic. I encountered 1 car other than me on the whole route and I had nothing to do about it. I was cruising at a lovely 90 kmph in the centre lane, the car moved to the left on seeing me, let me pass and shifted back in my rear view mirror. Hardly any steering input. Had to admit, here is exactly where cruise control would be handy. I had to do it the old fashioned way, toes stuck to the side wall at an angle and accelerator fixed.
I exited the expressway at Jaitpur at 11 am and from here on is a single road to Rawatsar-Hanumangarh and then finally to Bhatinda.
The last stretch isn’t anything to write home about. Except the beautiful quality of the road, it’s the regular thoroughfare one might expect in any part of the country.
Mileage achieved: 22.8kmpl
Below are some pictures and videos that I took along the way which will give an idea how packed I was and how the road is.
4 hours to cross almost the entirety of Rajasthan was something unimaginable 5-6 years ago.
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