[akshaymahajan]

Guys, I am moving from Delhi to Bangalore for work. Need to take clothes, personal belongings, a few basic utensils and the likes (Should not be more than 2 * 23 kg suitcases). And also my motorcycle.

Does it make more sense to courier the stuff and send my bike through Indian railways? Or is there a better option?

[skyrocket003]

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan

Guys, I am moving from Delhi to Bangalore for work. Need to take clothes, personal belongings, a few basic utensils and the likes (Should not be more than 2 * 23 kg suitcases). And also my motorcycle.

Does it make more sense to courier the stuff and send my bike through Indian railways? Or is there a better option?

You do not have a lot of stuff to actually need a packer & mover service. You could courier your 2 bags as you mentioned. Safexpress comes to my mind.

Alternatively, you can book an Air India flight to Bangalore while moving from here. They have a baggage allowance of 25KG which should be sufficient enough for you. (assuming you are married and moving with your wife). I did the same when I moved from Mumbai to Delhi.

[akshaymahajan]

Originally Posted by skyrocket003

You do not have a lot of stuff to actually need a packer & mover service. You could courier your 2 bags as you mentioned. Safexpress comes to my mind.

Alternatively, you can book an Air India flight to Bangalore while moving from here. They have a baggage allowance of 25KG which should be sufficient enough for you. (assuming you are married and moving with your wife). I did the same when I moved from Mumbai to Delhi.

Thank You. I have already booked my flight (non AI) and am travelling alone. Time to give these Safexpress guys a call. Have heard good things about them and their packages.

[autotranny]

I need to move a dining table and 6 chairs from Thrissur to Hyderabad. Any idea about the cost involved, door to door, including packing

[petrolhead_chn]

Originally Posted by autotranny

I need to move a dining table and 6 chairs from Thrissur to Hyderabad. Any idea about the cost involved, door to door, including packing

If the furniture isn't too huge and can be dismantled, I'd suggest you to initiate conversation with a nearby private bus (Volvo) transportation center such as KPN. Once they take it in, the receiver could then pick it up at the destination and arrange to take it back to their house. Give it a shot. I presume the regular courier and related methods might be expensive.

[autotranny]

Originally Posted by petrolhead_chn

If the furniture isn't too huge and can be dismantled, I'd suggest you to initiate conversation with a nearby private bus (Volvo) transportation center such as KPN. Once they take it in, the receiver could then pick it up at the destination and arrange to take it back to their house. Give it a shot. I presume the regular courier and related methods might be expensive.

Nopes, the main table can't be dismantled. It's made with teak wood and glass. Not safe in a bus.

[SoumenD]

Any leads on movers and packers for sending motor-bike(Apache) from Bangalore to Pune?
Agarwal movers and packers quoted 7K, SafeExpress quotes 5.1k
Any feedback on both? Are they too expensive or is it market norm?
Rail is the last option as last time I used railway service, although much cheaper, was a headache(typical sarkaari hassles)

[JMaruru]

Any economical options to ship a 'Godrej Storwel' Almirah from B'lore to Mumbai?

Agarwals are quoting upwards of INR 7K..

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Rail is the last option as last time I used railway service, although much cheaper, was a headache(typical sarkaari hassles)

I had my bike transported to Pune about 4 months ago by rail. Everything was thoroughly professional at Pune. I had to pay surcharge since I could only collect bike 5 days after it had arrived but even that was paid through credit card. I got my bike in flat 10 minutes. Maybe systems have improved now.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by JMaruru

Any economical options to ship a 'Godrej Storwel' Almirah from B'lore to Mumbai?

Agarwals are quoting upwards of INR 7K..

They quoted the same for my bike to Pune from Bangalore. I checked with a couple more like Transdaksh and SafeExpress who quoted around 4.5-5k. Has anybody tried these services? Are they safe enough?

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

I had my bike transported to Pune about 4 months ago by rail. Everything was thoroughly professional at Pune. I had to pay surcharge since I could only collect bike 5 days after it had arrived but even that was paid through credit card. I got my bike in flat 10 minutes. Maybe systems have improved now.

Last time I transferred it from Bhubaneswar to Pune(2008) via rail had a horrific time at Pune station with the babus fleecing me with 10 different rules plus my lack of knowledge in local language marathi made things worse. That's why while shifting to Bangalore(2009) I rode it down myself. Was awesome fun plus peaceful.

But now the bike is 10 years old, and me too around 8 years older Haven't been into long-distance biking for almost 3-4 years now, so riding all the way down is out of question.

How much did it cost btw via train? Maybe I will give it another shot if the difference is radical.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by SoumenD

Last time I transferred it from Bhubaneswar to Pune(2008) via rail had a horrific time at Pune station with the babus fleecing me with 10 different rules plus my lack of knowledge in local language marathi made things worse.

While I am reasonably fluent in marathi, there were bikes from all over up for delivery and all one needed to do was show the receipt, sign on register, pay surcharge (if any) and take the bike. The helper there did ask for 50 rupees but that was for taking off all the packaging. Considering he also took the bike out from warehouse, I felt he deserved for his efforts.

As for babu, I don't think he even uttered a word to anyone. It was working mechanically. He even was on his desk on time!!

That's why while shifting to Bangalore(2009) I rode it down myself. Was awesome fun plus peaceful.

I wanted to make that suggestion!! Road is wonderful, so is the weather. Heck I would even volunteer to ride if only someone paid one-way fare to Bangalore!

How much did it cost btw via train? Maybe I will give it another shot if the difference is radical.

It cost 1540 from Bhilai to Pune (around 1000 kms), doesn't include tips to staff for packing. Also, per day surcharge of 250 per day post 6 hrs of train arrival, which I had to pay for around 5 days.

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

...
As for babu, I don't think he even uttered a word to anyone. It was working mechanically. He even was on his desk on time!!

Sounds encouraging. I might as well end up giving it a try. Saves me a good 4-4.5k atleast

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

I wanted to make that suggestion!! Road is wonderful, so is the weather. Heck I would even volunteer to ride if only someone paid one-way fare to Bangalore!

If the bike was in good enough condition I would have done it myself. The tyres are pretty old and the bike's showing age. So wouldn't try the heroics or let anyone try it on this one. Infact the friend who would be using it there offered to do the same but I insisted on safety first. Once am done with the formalities with this one the next upgrade will solely be for getting back to long distance touring(but that's a different story)

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

It cost 1540 from Bhilai to Pune (around 1000 kms), doesn't include tips to staff for packing. Also, per day surcharge of 250 per day post 6 hrs of train arrival, which I had to pay for around 5 days.

Hi
Did you travel in the same train that the bike was packed and transported in (ie like luggage in the train where you travel in a reserved compartment) or did you book it in as parcel. In the latter you don't travel and it may take upto 10 odd days for the bike to reach its destination.

The latter can be a tad tricky as you do not get to supervise the packing.

To answer SoumenD's question, I had used Agarwal P&M (there are two and I used the one with the fauji pic on the website) to move my bike from Chd to Bangalore. It was smooth with not a scratch on the bike but expensive at around 11k including taxes and insurance. A lot of folks use the rail to move bikes, especially those riding to the Himalayas and from what I keep reading about, the overall experience seem to tilt in favour of rail than P&M.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

Did you travel in the same train that the bike was packed and transported in (ie like luggage in the train where you travel in a reserved compartment) or did you book it in as parcel. In the latter you don't travel and it may take upto 10 odd days for the bike to reach its destination.

This was a parcel (I did not travel with bike). The bike was booked on a train not originating from Bhilai but terminating at Pune. It was loaded one day after dad left it on station. In fact when he left the bike, he received a slip which had tracking number which I used online to track when and in which train the bike travelled and when it arrived in Pune. Even for surcharge, it was calculated from actual time of arrival of train in Pune.

The latter can be a tad tricky as you do not get to supervise the packing.

The bike was packed in front of dad and then kept ready for loading. He was able to ensure everything was packed well. Of course, when booked as luggage instead of parcel, one can supervise the loading as well as unloading.

[dre@ms]

Its not necessarily needed for you to travel in the train. You can get a unreserved ticket for the train in which you wish to load, if not to track in which train the bike was loaded. This is the way my dad booked my bike from Chennai to Delhi. I was in Delhi and visited the station to pick the bike. Overall a smooth experience albeit lost the helmet which was locked with the bike.