Of course, considering the mighty expense it might take, plus the time, I don't think there is any sense in this travel except for purposes of claiming on company expenses! Just imagine, you taking 30 to 45 minutes to reach Pune Airport at Vimannagar/Lohegaon, then after 30 minutes out at Mumbai domestic airport at Santacruz and then onwards travelling to your desired location in Mumbai traffic... That's a sheer waste of time and money! But, if you want a dent in your company expenses through claims, sure one might try that. And yeah, in the 18 minutes flying time that it takes, can one think of kidnapping flight in such a little time? Well, in our creative Bollywood industry, this happened in a flick named 'Yeh Dil Aashiqana' released in 2002! :D
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Most travelers on this route use the bus very frequently. One has to pay Rs. 300 for the service and from your source station (Swargate, Kothrud, Pune Railway Station), it would take around an hour's time to get out of city. Depending on your destination station (Borivali, Dadar or Thane), it would take more than an hour's time through the city to reach your place. In case of peak traffic times, say evening, if you encounter traffic at any one of the places, it might take more than 4 to 5 hours to reach! I remember taking an exact 7 hours to reach from Aundh in Pune to reach Borivali. No matter how great, well engineered, air-conditioned your bus or cab/car is, it cannot fly in traffic jams.
The option of railways is not much thought over by people who have got addicted to travelling by buses, I was no exception some time back. But, it is one option that would save your time as well as money. If you have planned in advance, this one might be a better one for you. There are 6+ direct Pune - Mumbai (CST) trains through the day, with not much problems of availability. If nothing, you can book just a few minutes in advance and try your luck with negotiation with the TTE if nothing works! ;)
Beside these 6 trains, there are a total of 30+ (not aware of the exact figure) trains available which would have a different source/destination station but would travel through the places.
The 6 major ones start with 6 am in the morning and the last one out of them is at 6:40 pm.
Fastest? Intercity Express and Deccan Queen Express (the famous 80 year old).
Fares? 65 Rs. for Second Seating (80 with Tatkal), 250 Rs. for AC ( 315 in case of Tatkal).
Time? I find Indian Railways pretty much credible in this regards. Timely departures and arrivals are very common these days, rather it is unlikely to come across a late short distance train. The average delay is 2 minutes for trains of our concern, with one exception of 15 minutes.
Travelling Time? To reach from Pune to Dadar, the faster ones take 2 hours 45 minutes, to Thane, 2 hours 30 minutes! What makes sense? The ordinary ones take 15 minutes more than the faster ones. I find it a better deal than 5 hours and the loads of extra money.
Route? One reason why I praise them is because it goes by a very long route but still make it in shorter time. By road, it is 150 kilometers, but by train the distance is 192 kms as British masters who laid the tracks put it a long way via Kalyan and then Thane. This geography explanation might take another separate post. Plus, the route is very scenic, enjoyable if traveled in day's time. With the DC to AC conversion, the trains make it much faster now!
Booking? Our famous portals, Yatra and MakeMyTrip also book. But, they connect you to IRCTC's website, so it makes sense to directly book from IRCTC. To get local agents (who are much likely to have contacts at the station), you might try JustDial or Quikr.
Safety? Sure, travel by trains is much safer than by road on Mumbai Pune Expressway. I haven't heard of any major casualty of trains in this route from a long time. On the Expressway, one accident is reported in every two days, the unreported cases are not known, cases of robbery and landslide exist and travel by cab is often risky if many people are stuffed in. And I do not need to write on the rude behavior of goons of Neeta, MetroLink etc. Transport business is no doubt of those with enough street fighter connections!
The downside of train travel on this route is that it would drop you only at Pune, Dadar, Thane, Kalyan or CST. If you are someone within proximity of Pune's railway station, or are planning to catch a bus from Pune station, sure this is an option you ought to consider. As for those in Mumbai, changing trains on a station is quite a routine for many, I really find it lame who complain at changing platforms at Dadar to catch a local for western line.
In any case, I would recommend this travel for youngsters travelling alone. And interestingly, I see a flight costs around Rs. 5000 at a minimum if booked 10 days in advance! Compare that with the lowest fare option of Rs. 65 :P
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