Cochin-Hampi-Cochin train info. Or buses?

phleques

Going from Kerala to Hampi. I booked a train from Cochin to Guntakal, and there is a 19 hour layover in Guntakal for the Hampi Express. The train arrives in Guntakal at 10:30, There were only 2 seats on the whole Hampi Expess Train, so I booked one, but could cancell if there are busses. Will I be able to get a bus to Hospet form Guntakal the same day, arriving in Hospet before dark? I'd be happy spending the day in Guntakal, although I coulnd't find much info. Thanks in advance for your help!

capt_mahajan

Go to the GUntakal bus stand, buses leave for Hospet regularly. Should be about 140km/4 hours.

Be warned, though. The buses are in very poor shape, the road is even worse, and the ride is bumpy and uncomfortable almost all the way... one of the worst stretches of road I have seen in India.

And you will have to ask around at the bus station for which buses go your way; it is poorly organised.

__________________
.
Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
Indiamike moderating team ..ich bin ein oneliner

steven_ber

EDIT NOTE- phleques, Cochin to Hampi questions are common, so I'm going to do a bit of a long reply showing the alternatives, I will also ask a moderator to move this thread to the trains forum, and change the thread title so others can find the info easily, I will wait for you to view the thread first though.
--------------------------------


Indian Railways can seem confusing, and often what looks like the best route may not always be the best option, especially for a tourist with time and adventure on their side.

The train to Guntakal takes 21.5 hours, so Cochin to Hospet total travel time will likely be about 27 hours.

IF you have time on your hands, the following options offer more comfortably timed options, they increase the overall time taken to get from Cochin to Hospet, though they reduce actual travel time.



Cochin to Hospet (for Hampi) via Bangalore.

Bangalore - offers a 'break' from India (in my opinion), the Brigade Rd/Residency Rd area offers great shopping, loads of western restaurants and best of all, loads of western style pubs (some with pool tables), the nearby Cubbon Park is also a nice place to relax, and a little further away (closer to the main train station) is the Bangalore Golf club and golf course, and the Bangalore horse racing track (I've not been to the Golfing or racing, so can't comment on these).

Whilst sitting at home planning your first trip to India, the 'break from India' may not seem like a thing to consider, but India can seem intense to a first time visitor, and a little break can be welcome, especially if you enjoy a beer and a game of pool, I'm sure there are also some good tourist places to visit in Bangalore, but in my 2 visits, I've not gotten round to reading the guidebook.


Cochin to Bangalore.

Train 6525 departs Ernakulam Town daily at 18.05 and gets to Bangalore Cant (closer to Brigade Rd) at 06:20, and Bangalore City Jn at 07.00 (2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 6316 departs Ernakulam Junction (Tu, Th & Sa only) at 20.35 and gets to Bangalore City Jn at 08:35 (2A, 3A, SL.)

Ernakulam Junction and Ernakulam Town stations are the mainline stations for Cochin, Ernakulam Junction station is known locally as Ernakulam south, and Ernakulam Town station is known locally as Ernakulam north.


Bangalore to Hospet.

Train 6592 departs Bangalore City Jn daily at 22.30 and gets to Hospet at 07.45 (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)

(total time on trains = just over 21 or 22 hours, depending on train used)
--------------------



Cochin to Hospet via Tirupati/Tirumala.

Tirupati, is the train station for Tirumala, the busiest temple in India, Tirumala is more like a town than you'd imagine it to be, and an interesting place to visit, though if you smoke cigarettes you may need to think seriously about visiting this place, the atmosphere in Tirumala is great (if a little touristy) and I'm sure you could easily spend half a day in Tirumala, but the complete ban on smoking can be difficult for a smoker if you're not ready for it, I would normally be OK for many hours, but I need to prepare myself, and finding out about the smoking ban on when I was on the bus to Tirumala isn't good preparation, Tirumala is on a hill above Tirupati, and should also be a welcome break from the heat.

When you come out of Tirupati station, turn right, about 300 metres down the road is the place where you get buses to Tirumala, they're really cheap, regular, and the ride to & from Tirumala is scary, with buses driving way too fast and close to the edge of the road with steep drops for all passengers if the driver miss-times a bend.

There is also a road leading away from the station (rather than left or right), it's called 'Car Street' or something similar, about 100 metres along the road on the right side (You'll find it) is a north Indian restaurant serving great North Indian Thalis, just buy the biggest one, it was Rs60-70 and included all sorts of extras, great stuff.


Cochin to Tirupati.

Well-timed trains only run 4 days a week.

Train 2643 (Tuesday, 3A, SL.) and train 2645 (Saturday, 2A, 3A, SL.) depart Ernakulam Junction at 18.40 and get to Tirupati at 07.35

Train 6317 (Friday, 3A, SL.) and train 2659 (Sunday, 2A, 3A, SL.) depart Ernakulam Junction at 20.40 and get to Tirupati at 09.08


Tirupati to Hospet.

Train 7430 departs Tirupati daily at 19.15 and gets to Hospet at 05.15 (2A, SL.)


(total time on trains = 22.5 - 23 or 22 hours, depending on train used)
---------------------------



Cochin to Hospet via Goa.

Goa is another option, the train ride from Cochin to Goa is scenic, but from Goa to Hospet is said to be awesome, especially the climb through the hills near the start of the journey.

Colva & Benaulim beaches are only a few kms from Madgaon (the main train station in Goa).


Cochin to Goa.

The fastest train only runs 2 days a week, but has great timings.

Train 2431 departs Ernakulam Junction (Tu & Th.) at 22.35 and gets to Madgaon at 10.25 (1A, 2A, 3A.)

There are also a group of trains departing from either Ernakulam Jn or Town at either 19:55 or 20:00, and getting to Madgaon at either 10:25 or 10:45, they all have different numbers, but no train runs with these timings on Thursdays, book early, train numbers are...6334 (M), 6336 (Tu), 6338 (W), 6338 (F), 6312 (Sa) and 2977 (Su). (all have 2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 6346 departs Ernakulam Junction daily at 14.15 and gets to Madgaon at 05.50 (2A, 3A, SL.)


Goa to Hospet.

Train 2848 departs Madgaon (Tu, Th, F, Su.) at 08.15 and gets to Hospet at 15.10 (2A, 3A, SL.)

(total time on trains = 19.5 - 23 hours, depending on train used)

A

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.



Train information.

steven_ber

Please read above post first.
------------------------------------

Hospet to Cochin via Tirupati/Tirumala

Hospet to Tirupati.

Train 7416 departs Hospet daily at 22.25 and gets to Tirupati at 08.45 (2A, 3A, SL.)


Tirupati to Cochin.

Train 6381 departs Tirupati daily at 14.35 and gets to Ernakulam Town at 04.35 (2A, 3A, SL.) this train starts it's journey in Mumbai.

Train 2626 departs Tirupati daily at 21.02 and gets to Ernakulam Junction at 09.35 (2A, 3A, SL.) this train starts it's journey in Delhi, but is a very reliable train, arriving on time when I used it, and was told that it's 'always on time'.

Train 7230 departs Tirupati daily at 00.35 and gets to Ernakulam Town at 13.40 (2A, 3A, SL.) this train starts it's journey in Hyderabad. (careful with date when booking this train)


Hospet to Cochin via Bangalore

Hospet to Bangalore.

Train 6591 departs Hospet daily at 19.55 and gets to Bangalore City Jn at 06.10 (1A, 2A, 3A, SL.)


Bangalore to Cochin.

All the following trains start from Bangalore City Jn station and all have 2A, 3A, and SL.

Train 2684 departs Bangalore (M & Th only) at 17.15 and gets to Ernakulam Junction station at 04.20

Train 6315 departs Bangalore (W, F & Su only) at 17.15 and gets to Ernakulam Junction station at 04.50

Train 6321 departs Bangalore (Th only) at 18.50 and gets to Ernakulam Junction station at 06.30

Train 6526 departs Bangalore daily at 21.45 and gets to Ernakulam Town station at 10:00


Hospet to Cochin via Goa

Hospet to Bangalore.

Train 2847 departs Hospet (M, W, Th, Sa. only) at 06.30 and gets to Madgaon at 13.43 (2A, 3A, SL.)(this train starts it's journey in Kolkata and could be a couple of hours late)


Goa to Cochin.

Train 2618 departs Madgaon daily at 19.35 and gets to Ernakulam Junction at 10.00 (2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 6345 departs Madgaon daily at 22:40 and gets to Ernakulam Junction at 14.05 (2A, 3A, SL.)

A

phleques

Thanks Capt. for the info on the buses, and thanks Steven for the extensive train info. I'm going to check availability and likely change my tickets. The India train system has been a challenge to understand! Thanks again.

steven_ber

It's never easy, if you have any problems finding availability, let me know, there are sometimes ways to get around problems, though not always.

Good luck.

phleques

Thanks Steven. I booked the 02678 from ERANAKULAM JN to BANGALORE CY JN, arriving at 21:10, then the HAMPI EXP leaving BANGALORE CY JN at 22:30. In my optimistic view(?), I'm hoping that both trains, because they are shorter duration "runs", will be on time and I will have about an hour between trains. The 02678 seems to start at Ernakulam and end in Bangalore, and the Hampi Exp seems to start in Bangalore. Does that seem to make sense?

I"m hoping to go to Mamallapuram after Hampi, but couldn't find a train from Hospet to Chennai, is there a way to get near Mamallapuram on one train? The India Rail system is turning out to be a fun challenge-although maybe quite difficult if it's last minute plans without the internet. Thanks! again!!

steven_ber

Raichur is a 4 hour bus ride from Hampi/Hospet, Raichur is on the main Mumbai-Chennai route, there are 3 daily trains on that route, though another option would be a train from Hospet to Guntakal, also on the same Mumbai-Chennai route, though I never seem to ba able to find good connections at Guntakal.

Here's a couple of real poor options.

Train 6351 departs Raichur (Wed & Sun only) at 00.55 and gets to Chengalpattu at 16.25 (2A, 3A, SL.)

Train 1043 departs Raichur (Fri only) at 13.35 and gets to Chengalpattu at 01.30 (2A, 3A, SL.)

A train to Chennai would be a better option.



I was a little concerned about train 02678 arriving at Bangalore on time, so I look into it a little.....


The train hasn't got to Bangalore more than 10 minutes late in the last 5 days.

The train also has 25 minutes added to the timetable before it gets to Coimbatore, then it has at least 20 minutes to play with at Coimbatore station, and the train then has an extra 30 minutes added to the timetable to help it arrive in Bangalore on time.

The route is also double track for most of the route.

So the train seems to be OK, as long as there's no unexpected delays.

hongkonger

We travelled from Hampi to Mamallapuram in November. I'm afraid my information isn't as detailed as the guys above, but I can tell you we got an early afternoon train from Hospet to Dhone, arrived early evening, waited there about three hours, and then got an overnight train to Chennai. Caught a bus right outside the train station to a big bus station outside the city, and then got a bus from there to Mamallapuram.

My husband is likely to remember the train names and details - I'll try to remember to ask him this evening & let you know.

One odd thing was that on the Hospet-Dhone train, one of the conductors was a bit concerned about the connection - he didn't think there was a train from there to Chennai; but at the next conductor change-over the new guy confirmed that it was ok!

phleques

Thanks Hongkonger, How was Mallapuram? Any good experiences?? I ended up booking an overnight train From Hospet to Tirupati, then a morning commuter train to Chennai. I figure I'll take buses or cabs ro something(?)along the coast to Mallapuram. More than one way to get there, I guess!