Gulbarga to Hubli by NWKRTC Rajahamsa.

Gulbarga to Hubli by NWKRTC Rajahamsa.

Date of journey: 17/05/2013
Service: NWKRTC Rajahamsa.
Distance: 375kms(appox)

The heat was unbearable. Gulbarga was reeling under temperature around 35 ͦCelsius. Little did I realize that I am stepping into a hot tavern when Vivek asked me to join him to Gulbarga. After having a lovely dinner, thanks to Vivek and his family, I stepped out from the comforts of his air conditioned home to face the hot, humid weather of Gulbarga.

17:45hrs:
We arrived at the Gulbarga Central Bus stand also known as Kalburgi Bus stand.  I had decided to book the A/C sleeper (Corona) to Hubli. We reached the ticket counter only to find it to be closed. Upon questioning the officials around, we were told that the counter would open at 6pm.

18:10hrs:
The counter opened and a handful amount of people thronged the counter. After waiting penitently waiting, it was my turn.  I asked the lady to book the A/C sleeper service at 22:00hrs. The lady politely said the service was cancelled…!!!

With no other go, I went ahead and booked the 21:00Hrs Rajahamsa service. The bus still had seats in the middle row and was fast filling. While I booked a window seat for myself, my friend was busy searching for a ticket on a private operator.

Time passed by as both of us chatted along and finally the moment of truth arrived. The bus arrived and began to pull into the platform. The conductor got his trip sheet and I checked in my ticket. The bus finally left at 22:20hrs. The cool breeze from the window ensured that I slept peacefully. The leg space was humongous and since my next seat was empty, I took all the advantage. The bus was doing some pretty decent speeds. We reached Jewargi in no time and after picking up few passengers we kept on moving. 

When I woke up we were in Lingsugur and the bus had halted at for a Tea break. I continued sleeping as a very eventful day was up ahead and I ensured, I rested to the brim. After a 10minute break, the bus began to move and I continued my sleep. The lights in the bus were switched on again as we had reached Gadag. A handful of passengers got down here and the equal number of passengers boarded the bus here. The conductor was quick to issue tickets to them and the lights were switched off again. With my destination nearing, I could barely wait for the bus to reach Hubli. I continued sleeping while the bus powered on ahead. When I got up, the bus was near Hubli Railway station.  The weather was very cold and cloudy when Hubli welcomed me. I called up Punyakeerthi and he mentioned that he had reached the new bus stand. My bus entered Hubli Old bus stand and after dropping few passengers, it headed towards the new bus stand. I was dropped of in-front of the new bus stand at exactly 5:50am.

Will I try this service again…?

I am not sure if I would be traveling on this stretch again but I would definitely recommend this service. Rajahamsa services have been criticized off lately for poor maintenance and very bad time maintenance.  Though the bus was old, the upkeep was good and the leg space was appreciable. The bus took less than 9hrs to cover a stretch of 375kms (appox) which again is commendable.