Parcel:
1. You need not travel with the bike.
2. Person sending the bike need not be present to receive the bike
3. You do not need a train ticket to send a parcel
Luggage:
1. You need to travel in the same train as the bike. Bike is sent as a luagge along with you
2. You need to collect the bike personally in the destination.
3. Bike owner or only their blood relative can transport
4. Costlier than parcel as you also need the ticket. If you are traveling, then this is not added cost.
5. Faster then parcel as it is sent along with you on the booked train
If you are not planning to travel in the train, but still book as a luggage, you need to have a confirmed ticket (Online or counter) or a waiting list ticket (Counter only) for luggage. You can then collect it from destination. Bike will be parked free of cost for 6 hours, additional hours will be charhged at Rs. 10 per hour + GST
Steps to book as Bike Parcel (You need not travel with the bike)
If you want your motor cycle or bike to be booked as parcel, then follow the steps given below.
Parcel is accepted only between 10 am and 5 pm
Step 1: A day before go to the Parcel office with bike that you need to transport. So that it will reach you as soon as possible.
Step 2: Find out the charges that has been and expected time of delivery/arrival of bike
Step 3: As discussed earlier, take the bike's registration certificate & insurance photo copy alone with you. You need not have the registration original for this process. You also need one original Photo id with you, as you also need to mention the ID number in the form. You need the same ID to collect the bike.
Step 4: There will be strict inspection of petrol tank of bike before they loaded in the train. So make sure you have least amount of petrol in the bike and empty it during packing. You can read this blog for problem faced with petrol in the bike.
Step 5: Outside railway transport office, they will be many packers to parcel the bike. Make sure your bike are securely packed by that packer. Cost for packing varies, usually you can get it done for around Rs. 200.
Step 6: Go to Parcel office, book put a value on your bike. Mention the bike's engine and chassis number in the parcel form.
Steps to book as Luggage (You need to travel with the bike)
Luggage can be booked even one hour before the departure of the train. You can read this blog to learn about what happened when booking for a train that was 8 hours late.
Parcel office will be open 24 hours for luggage services. (You can read the challenged faced for a delayed train)
If you want your bike to be booked as luggage, then follow the steps given below.
Step 1: Go to the booking office any time within 24 hours before the departure of the train, with all the documents photocopies like insurance, bike registration certificate.
Step 2: Empty the petrol tank of bike and now securely pack the bike with packer. You can read this blog for problem faced with petrol in the bike.
Step 3: Now book it as luggage; keep the luggage receipt & the endorsement of the train ticket. Make sure you are keep it safe because these two are required to get your bike back
Here is the sample of the Luggage receipt you will need to get the bike back.
Step 4: Wait for the train. Make sure your bike is getting loaded to the same train. 99% this is taken care even with you checking, this is just to double check.
Step 5: After reaching your journey, go to luggage office. Show the original ticket and the luggage endorsement. Navigate to the platform or the train compartment to receive the bike parcel. Usually you need not pay any porter fees here if you collect it yourself. There can be cases where you again need to pay Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 to get your bike out. I had paid on one occasion in Chennai, Central (Rs. 100) and on another, I was not asked any money in Chennai, Egmore.
Note: Since you are emptying the petrol tank you can't start the bike. Also you can't travel with petrol filled in a bottle since it is violation of rules. So make sure your friend is waiting with a bottle of petrol so outside station so that you can take the bike directly to your home.
Tracking Bike Parcel Delivery in Luggage Office:
Enquire at the luggage office about the delivery of the bike. You will get the information on the motor bike parcel like when motor cycle has been transported and how long will it take to be delivered. Also the expected time of delivery
Bike Parcel Fees & bike Transport Charges/Cost:
Rail transport Fess are always cheap when you compared to other mode of transportation. Please find the for bike parcel charges/cost
Packing / Porter Charges Rs. 150 to 200 /- . These charges will be needed for both packing and during delivery.
Total cost to transport bike through Indian railway trains is calculated based on the CC of the bike. Most will be in 60 - 350 cc category.
If you need the exact cost then you can check out the below website which will in turn calculate the charges or the cost for the transport.
Railway parcel charges
Insurance charge is based on the value of the bike. Note this cost will be included along with the Parcel cost. State the value of the bike as higher because higher the value of bike will get higher insurance fee. Declaration up to Rs.10, 000 don't have any extra charges. After that the insurance charges will be extra 1% of the declared value.
Bike Parcel Transport Rules:
Make sure to empty the petrol tank of your motorcycle because during inception if they found a bike with fuel in the petrol tank, then they will put fine for Rs.1000 (i.e.) for transporting the bike with petrol. In some cases, the railway police will have rights to put criminal case and there are changes to put to you in prison for a period of 6 months to 2 years.
Suppose if the bike is lost because of train accident etc. then Indian railways will repay as per the declared value of goods
Make sure you are mentioning the bike engine & chassis number during the parcel form registration.
If you unable to unload & collect the bike from the train at your destination station, then you can again book bike parcel to the nearest major railway station.
Bike Parcel Booking Timings:
Parcel 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Luggage 24*7