Since the past few days, an old picture of a bus has been doing rounds on numerous social media platforms

If you are an active Facebook or Instagram user, you have probably come across the black-and-white picture of an ancient bus with ‘London-Calcutta-London’ printed on its side. Some claimed the picture to be fake, whereas others thought it to be a picture from the set of some film. Both the takes are not accurate because the picture is legitimate. Yes, you read that right! There was a bus route from Calcutta (Present-day Kolkata) to London and back in the 50s, the bus was called as ‘Albert’.

World’s longest bus route

Ran by a corporation called Albert tours, the London to Calcutta bus route was the longest bus route in the world. The original bus route was actually between London to Sydney via India. The bus used to depart from London and cross through several countries such as Belgium, West Germany, Austria, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan to arrive at India. From India, it used to enter Burma followed by Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and finally Sydney.

Pocket pinch

For a one-way trip, a traveller had to pay a hefty price of 145 pounds. Converting the same to Indian rupees along with the inflation, that 145 pounds today is equivalent to 13,644 Rupees. In that age, the trip was a costly affair, but none cannot deny that it was a once in a lifetime experience. Travelling on a luxurious bus through so many countries was no lesser than an adventure back in the day. Talking about extravagance, the bus which was a double-decker model had plenty to offer in terms of luxurious facilities.

Luxury on wheels

The double-decker bus named Albert was a fancy vehicle with comforts such as reading and dining saloon, forward observation lounge, fully equipped galley, individual sleeping bunks, radio and taped music, fan heaters along with bright carpets and curtains. Therefore, the ticket of the journey read ‘Your Complete Home While You Travel!’

Sightseeing 

Apart from ferrying the passengers from London to Sydney via Calcutta (India), it used to offer sightseeing on the course. The tour package had famous tourist spot sightseeing such as the Golden Horn of Istanbul, the Peacock Throne of Delhi, the Rhine Valley and the Khyber Pass to name a few.

During its lifespan, Albert made 15 trips between England and India, along with four voyages from England to Australia.