Bike Transport with Indian Railways

 Bike Transport with Indian Railways

Bike getting transported (Pic Credit: Google)

Introduction

I am Ankesh and I work as a DevOps Software Consultant with an IT firm. I have been writing tech blogs on different websites but recently I had to get my bike moved from Bengaluru, Karnataka to Ranchi, Jharkhand and I found that there is no proper documentation/blogs available for this process on the internet. So, I thought to write this straight-ahead blog to explain the complete process.

My Travel Details

• I was traveling from Bengaluru, Karnataka to Ranchi, Jharkhand.
• The bike being transported was TVS Apache RTR 200 4v BS6 2020.
• The total distance covered was around 1900 km.
• The train was Hatia-Yeshwantpur Superfast Express (Special). (HTE-YPR)
• The date of travel was 2021-Feb-04 and the train was scheduled to depart at 08:30am in morning.
• The train reached the destination on 2021-Feb-05 at 06:00pm.
• I chose the option "Luggage" and was traveling on the same train.

Luggage/Parcel Charges

• The total cost of the luggage is calculated based on the weight of the bike and mostly on the traveling distance and the declared value of the bike.
• The luggage rates can be found on the Govt. website here. (http://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/parcel/downloads/luggage_rates.pdf)

Things to keep in mind

• The Railway Parcel Office doesn't operate 24x7 everywhere (it varies from station to station), it operates only during office hours somewhere around 10:30am to 08:00pm. So, If your train is in the evening or early morning, make sure to get your bike a day before.
• They empty your fuel tank before packing. So, make sure you carry a container to get your petrol back or keep less petrol in your bike. You also cannot carry petrol while traveling on the train.
• The bike packing is done outside the Parcel Office and is charged additionally. Railways don't accept your bike without packing.

Types of Bike Transport

1. Luggage: To opt for this, you must be having a confirmed reserved train ticket in which you are traveling and the bike is loaded in the same train luggage compartment. The benefit is you can take the vehicle once you reach your destination.
2. Parcel: This is a normal option to transport the bike. you don't necessarily be on the same train. The parcel is 25% cheaper than the luggage but the bike is sent as per the availability of the space on the luggage compartment.

Steps to be followed to upload your bike

1. Time to get your bike for the parcel
• For Parcel: You can go to the parcel office any day during office hours.
• For Luggage:
• First, you need to check your train timing, the complete process takes 2-4 hrs, so make sure you reach the parcel office before 5 hours of your train getting departed. I would say get your bike a day before your train schedule. This is what I did because you never know how much rush is there already. I took my bike to Yeshwantpur Parcel Office a day before i.e. 2021-Feb-03 evening 06:00pm.
• Then, I had to wait for almost 1 hr to get my bike packing started as there were others in the queue, and the packing took almost 40-45 mins as they will also empty your fuel tank. So, the total time was 2 hrs.
• There were two types of packing, one was the Normal wrap (Cost: INR 450) and the second was Bubble wrap (Cost: INR 590). I went for bubble wrap as my bike was new and it adds a layer of protection.

While Packing

• These people empty your fuel tank and you make sure you carry a container for the left-out petrol or you will have no option rather leaving it there.
• After emptying the petrol, your bike must be in a state where it should not get started even after pressing the ignition switch. They check it.
• With a marker, write your name, mobile number, and transport details (ex: YPR to HTE) above the packing.

1. 

   Packed Completely

   
   
2. Get the Parcel form and documents ready
• All you need are the below documents for your bike. Take a xerox copy of the below documents and make sure you also carry the original copy.
• Bike RC (Registration)
• Bike Insurance
• Your Govt. ID Proof
• Your train ticket (Only when 'Luggage' was opted and you are traveling on the same train)
• After your bike is packed, you can bring your bike to the parcel office and then fill the Parcel form. You will have to add some basic details like:
• Sender's Name, Address and Mobile Number.
• Receiver's Name, Address and Mobile Number.
• The value of the bike (Declaration up to 10,000 INR don't have any extra charges, After that the insurance charges will be 1% of the declared value)
• 
  

  

  Parcel Form

  
  
3. After you filled the form
• Submit all these documents and pay your bill (my bill was 3,072 INR). You will receive a 'Luggage Ticket' (keep it safely).
• 
  

  

  Luggage Ticket

  
  
• One official will come with you to check your bike's packing and he will check if your bike starts or not. He will also write some more details on the packing with his marker.
• Make sure you keep your Luggage Ticket safely as you will need the original copy of it to get back your bike from the destination railway station.
4. Note: This step is not mandatory in the process. The loading of the luggage will start almost 2 hours before the train departs. I reached the station by 06:30am and was waiting near the luggage compartment of the train. I wanted to see my bike getting loaded as I had to make sure it was done safely. I would recommend you go and check the loading as I am not very happy with the way it was done which I will tell in the last section of this blog. The loading was started by 07:00am and my bike got loaded in the luggage by 07:30am.

Bike getting loaded (Pic Credit: Google)

After this, I boarded the train and left Bengaluru.

Steps to be followed to get your bike back

1. Note: This step is not mandatory in the process. After the train reached its destination, I went to the luggage compartment to make sure my bike was unloaded properly. I would recommend you to do it if you want the safety of your bike.
2. Go to Luggage Office
• By the time train reached the destination, it was already 06:00pm. I rushed to the Luggage office after my bike was unloaded and reached there by 06:30pm.
• Submit the original 'Luggage Ticket' and a copy of your Govt. ID Proof and a copy of the ticket you were traveling.
• The officer will get an Exit pass and hand it over to a luggage official. He will then get your bike from the platform and bring it to the luggage exit gate.
3. Bike handover
• You will receive the bike there at the exit gate. Check the condition of your bike properly and notify the Parcel Officer of any damages.
• By the time I got the bike, it was 07:15pm.
• Since there was no petrol in your bike, get some from outside and ride to your home. I called my friend who got me 2L of petrol.

Things I am not happy about

1. The bike loading was not very good. My bike was loaded properly as I was standing there but I felt pity for the other bikes. I was also present while the bike was unloaded.
2. Even after paying the luggage bill, the guys who load the bike will keep asking for extra money. The same happened when I was getting the handover at the destination station.
3. I saw my bike loaded properly and went to board the train but when I came back at the unloading, I saw there were 4-5 heavy boxes loaded on top of my bike. My packing was good so the harm was less but I still end up getting a major scratch on the grab rails on the back.

Scratches on the Grab Rails

Conclusion

The railway two-wheelers transport should be taken with a pinch of salt. You can expect minor scratches/dents on your bike. But if you love your bike and it is new or costly, I would suggest you go with private delivery companies like Gati, VRL, etc. It would be a little costly and they can charge twice the amount you pay in railways but they can provide home pickup and delivery and can carry it with care and safety. If you are OK with minor issues (not necessarily you will get it), you can happily go with Indian Railways.

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