#nehrutrophy

[janamaithrifortsubdivision]

Congratulations Team Kerala Police #kerala #keralapolice #vallamkali #nehrutrophy #nehrutrophyboatrace #KeralaState #alappuzha (at Punnamada) https://www.instagram.com/p/B12zGoUA1DZ/?igshid=1f0cnrnh0camv

[janamaithrifortsubdivision]

കേരളാ പോലീസിന്‍റെ പെണ്‍കരുത്തിന് അഭിനന്ദനങ്ങൾ .. 🥇🥇 #KeralaPolice #womenpolice #nehrutrophyboatrace #nehrutrophy #nehrutrophyboatrace2019 #punnamada #punnamadalake #punnamadakayal #boatrace (at Kerala) https://www.instagram.com/p/B11buC3gCCV/?igshid=1vb80a2yk41f8

[jaideepsen-indulgexpresstnie]

Tickets for the boat races, this way! #boats #boatraces #NehruTrophy #CBL #championsboatleague (at Alappuzha) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1x4MFtFR0r/?igshid=13f08ah8sc356

[jaideepsen-indulgexpresstnie]

Boat races, anyone? See you at the Nehru Pavilion island! #NehruTrophy #boats #boatraces #CBL #championsboatleague (at Alappuzha) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1x2mNZF-xu/?igshid=5e8jybiyvt9v

[greenzcarcare-blog]

#karichal Chundan with #greenzcarcare protection... #nehrutrophyboatrace #nehrutrophy #marineprotection #greenzboatcare https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp_ETT-A_ob/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=uh5ct89veujs

[anoopphotogtravel-blog]

'Chundan Vallam' Annual Snake Boat Race in Kerala India with 90-110 rowers approximately. - The Nehru Trophy Boat Race is a popular annual Vallam Kali held in the Punnamada Lake near Alappuzha, Kerala, India.

[coach-digi]

India - Trip Report on Volvo B7R 9400 (Thiruvananthapuram to Alappuzha)

Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is a state-owned bus operator, running city bus, inter-city and inter-state bus services. It was established as early as 1938. KSRTC has been headquartering in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala State. Owning over 5,000 vehicles, KSRTC has a fleet consisting of a majority of Indian-made Ashok Leyland and Tata buses. They also own a number of Volvo B7R/B9R air-conditioned coaches for long-haul premium services.

I was on-board the Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore Volvo services. Bangalore is the third largest city in India. It is considered as the Indian "Silicon Valley". The whole journey was about 700 km, with a duration of more than 14 hours. This time, I did not finish the whole journey, but planned to alight in Alappuzha. The reason was to grasp to rare opportunity to watch the Nehru Trophy Boat Race! Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha was about 150 km apart. This sector officially takes about 3 to 4 hours.

3 Airavat Club Class Volvo coaches are scheduled for this route. RA102, which served me this time, is one of them. It is a Volvo B7R - 9400 coach, equipped with a Volvo D7E (290PS) engine. The bus departed punctually at 15:15 heading to Bangalore.

Basic information of the ride: Route: Thiruvananthapuram to Alappuzha Date: 12 AUG 2012 Time of Departure: 15:15 Operator: Kerala State Road Transport Corporation Class: Airavat Club Class Coach Type: Volvo B7R - 9400 Fare: Rs 253

Photo captured in Thiruvananthapuram Thampanoor Bus Station before I boarded the bus. Note that I did not buy the ticket in advance, but paid to the contractor after I found an empty seat.

The simple dashboard design on this Volvo coach.

The bus carries 45 reclining seats. The Airavat Club Class is described as Semi-sleep bus by KSRTC. The window seat showed the fully reclined position.

The specification of the bus

Something happened when the coach was approaching Kollam, about 70 km away from Thiruvananthapuram. The coach was broken down, with warning lights flashing. The driver tried to restart the bus but failed.

The two drivers on-board tried to fixed the problem. 30 minutes later, the bus was able to start up again. 

However, the bus was found abnormal again near Karunagapalli. The drivers decided to have it repaired in the KSRTC workshop.

The engine of the B7R coach.

However, due to the leak of experience and knowledge in repairing a rare Volvo coach in Kerala, the bus was not able to continue its remaining journey in a short time. I decided to ask for fare refund and took a Fast Passenger class Ashok Leyland ordinary bus to my destination. Finally, I arrived Alappuzha safely at 21:00.

Recently, KSRTC is making plans to end its Volvo services to Bangalore. The Volvo buses were reported to have a lack of regular maintenance. There are not sufficient qualified maintenance staff either. These Volvo coaches are in poor conditions that only one of the three is in service. The service is greatly interrupted. The bus was sometimes even cancelled in last minute. Some opinions suggested replacing the unreliable Volvo service by the new Super Deluxe Service, which will be operated by Indian-made buses equipped by air suspension.

Lastly, we bring you some spectacular photos during the Nehru Trophy Boat Race!