[TheG2]

Dear fellow BHPians,
Recently I have transported my bike using railways and would like to share some small (but important) tips/information :

1. Pick the parcel within 6 hours of arrival.
Reason - Railway offers free "lodging" for goods only for 6 hours. After that there is a premium penalty charged on hourly basis + taxes. This is based on weight on the parcel. For bikes it is Rs 10 per hour, Rs 250 per day.

2. Mention the name and number of the person who will pick the delivery on the cover of the packing.
Reason - There are many private helpers (call them private goods coolie) who are working at the stations and whenever a new parcel arrives with a number they give a call to that number to inform. Offcourse they will take a small tip for the favour.

3. Do not seek help of any person while getting out your parcel unless really needed.
Reason - Railways does not provide any such facility. You need to pick your parcel on your own and carry out yourself. Most of the guys offering help are private guys and they will charge you for the service later when you will have no choice but to pay.

4. Always take the original acknowledgement printout with the penalty charges (if paid) clearly mentioned.
Reason - Clear enough to avoid being wrongly charged.

5. Do not challenge the officer about the pernalty charges if you do not pick the parcel within 6 hours.
Reason - The 6 hour timeframe is indeed a rule not mentioned anywhere. So any argument will reduce chances of any out of system settlement

6. Negotiate with the truck/tempo transporters on your own.
Reason - Truck/tempo transporters are generally not present inside the office. So the person offering help with transport are agents to take commission from the transportors for the deal. Go out and crack the deal on your own to save good amount ( more than 50% possible).

7. Check the parcel status at the below link.
http://www.parcel.indianrail.gov.in/

8. Pickup within 6 hours = Rs. 0 charge on delivery.
Reason - If you are picking your parcel withing 6 hours of reaching the station you do NOT need to pay even a single rupee anywhere. Just produce the invoice and take the parcel. Do not entertain any unsolicited tips/money. If asked complain to the SM.

9. Check the parcel thoroughly before taking delivery.
Reason - Always check your bike (parcel) thoroughly before taking delivery. Many incidence of damages have been reported.
In the current world of smart phones, there is no harm in taking all angle pictures of the parcel during booking.

10. Ensure the following is not transported along with the bike - Original papers, any valuables, tool box, any fancy accessories, etc.

MODS - Please move the post in the right section and delete if not required.

~Best,
G2

[ariesonu]

11. Carry a helmet and about a litre of petrol in bottle, if driving the two wheeler home after delivery.
Vehicles are almost drained of fuel when transported through railways. Its prudent to carry a litre of petrol that can take you to nearest petrol pump from where you can top-up.
Helmet: do I need to give a reason!!

[dass]

Originally Posted by TheG2

9. Check the parcel thoroughly before taking delivery.
Reason - Always check your bike (parcel) thoroughly before taking delivery. Many incidence of damages have been reported.
In the current world of smart phones, there is no harm in taking all angle pictures of the parcel during booking.


~Best,
G2

Thank you for a very detailed explanation.

Incase at the time of delivery on inspection we find damages to the bike or for that matter any parcel, is there a grievance addressable option? I mean, we are talking about Indian Railways after all. Will the damages be compensated for?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by dass

Incase at the time of delivery on inspection we find damages to the bike or for that matter any parcel, is there a grievance addressable option? I mean, we are talking about Indian Railways after all. Will the damages be compensated for?

Googled and found this information. Hope this helps.

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/RAILWAY_CLAIM_MANUAL.pdf

The imp part to find out is if Railways refuse, would the 2 wheeler Insurance co admit such a claim for transporting the vehicle through Railways.

[raghu.t.k]

Good write-up. If the person needs to travel, the best is to take it along in the same train. This ensures that the vehicle does not get to stay at the originating / destination stations un-necessarily (an opportunity for theft/damage), and lesser hassles. Also you could monitor the vehicle being loaded or unloaded. The only challenge at the time is how to get it re-fueled, since the tank needs to be empty.

I had taken my bike a few years back to hyderabad, and brought it back to chennai the same way. In both cases the vehicle was available by the time I was out of the coach!!

[parrys]

Originally Posted by TheG2

Dear fellow BHPians,
Recently I have transported my bike using railways and would like to share some small (but important) tips/information :

Considering that you had clicked a couple of pictures of the bike, would you please share them with us.

What is the packing process? Did stick some foam pads around? What preventive measures were followed in case there was an impact?

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by dass

Thank you for a very detailed explanation.

Incase at the time of delivery on inspection we find damages to the bike or for that matter any parcel, is there a grievance addressable option? I mean, we are talking about Indian Railways after all. Will the damages be compensated for?

There will be a mechanism, but being GoI, it will grind like the wheels of justice!!
Slowly, steadily, even after death!

Take care while transporting, I would suggest removing all plastics, like the indicators, speedo etc. (as much as is possible).
I shipped my RX100 from delhi to Bangalore years ago, and it arrived with all four indicators, speedo, flaps, all missing/dangling.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

Hi,

how do you ensure that the bike is offloaded at the destination station? I mean talk with porter / SM when you know in which train the bike is arriving ? Also, sometimes the bike is taken further to some other station without offloading at the destination station- due to lack of time / less goods for the same station. How are all these taken care of?

Spike

[Kaumad]

I recently transported my bike from Chennai to Bangalore through Agarwal Packers & Movers.

• Very professional and courteous guys. Arrived promptly at the agreed-upon time and started work.
• They had brought the materials along to pack the bike as you can see in the pictures - bubble wrap for light & indicator areas; corrugated cardboard for all other areas of the bike; thin plastic film wrap to complete the packing.
• I had removed front and rear lights, both mirrors and all 4 indicators - did not want to risk breakage during transportation. You will appreciate it when you see which bike it is.
• After packing, they loaded it onto a Tata Ace and it was secured by a thick rope.

I'll let the pictures do the talking.
Overall, I was very happy with the experience.

[Majumdarda]

Originally Posted by Kaumad

...

Thank you Kaumad for sharing this experience. RD350 HUH. One question that I have for you is, what about the petrol tank? Their bubble wraps and plastic sheets cannot prevent any impact on the petrol tank, and for any motorcycle, the tank plays a crucial role. Did you first wrap the tank at home, thermocol, cloth etc? And then asked the packers for the final touch?
Also what about the front mud guard? Did you remove it? If not, can you please share some images how it was packed by the courier guys.
What were your observations post delivery? Was everything as per your wishes or something missing, or not as promised.

Please advise

[Kaumad]

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

One question that I have for you is, what about the petrol tank? Their bubble wraps and plastic sheets cannot prevent any impact on the petrol tank, and for any motorcycle, the tank plays a crucial role. Did you first wrap the tank at home, thermocol, cloth etc? And then asked the packers for the final touch?

The petrol tank was not removed. Was left on the bike after draining [almost] all petrol out of the tank. No, I did not pack anything. All packing was done by Agarwal guys. The tank was proper and intact when it was delivered. No damage whatsoever.

Originally Posted by Majumdarda

Also what about the front mud guard? Did you remove it? If not, can you please share some images how it was packed by the courier guys.
What were your observations post delivery? Was everything as per your wishes or something missing, or not as promised.
Please advise

The front mudguard was also on the bike, was not removed. The mudguard on my RD is fibre-plastic one and so, it flexes a bit. Again, was in proper condition when delivered, no damage. Also, it was not packed. It was left exposed as you can see in the pictures.

Hope this helps.

[Neur0t0xin]

I need to transport my KA registered Honda Activa from Kolkata to Bangalore.
I had brought it here by railway parcel service a year ago. The problem is that I have lost the original RC book and so cannot send it through the railway parcel without producing the RC papers.
Guys, please advise as to how to go about this.

[TheG2]

Originally Posted by Neur0t0xin

I need to transport my KA registered Honda Activa from Kolkata to Bangalore.
I had brought it here by railway parcel service a year ago. The problem is that I have lost the original RC book and so cannot send it through the railway parcel without producing the RC papers.
Guys, please advise as to how to go about this.

Nothing to worry. You can connect with any private transporter and they will shift your bike provided you have your insurance papers in place. Get the RC made once the bike is back in KA, even though it is not needed to get the duplicate RC made.

[Neur0t0xin]

Thanks a lot TheG2!
I would be doing the same. I also thought I about filing an complaint about the lost RC book with the police station there and produce it along with the insurance papers to the private transporter.
I shall update regarding this once I am back in Kolkata next week.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by Kaumad

The petrol tank was not removed. Was left on the bike after draining [almost] all petrol out of the tank. No, I did not pack anything. All packing was done by Agarwal guys. The tank was proper and intact when it was delivered. No damage whatsoever.

The Petrol tank of my RD had a huge dent when it arrived. It was in scrap condition so I guess they did not pay much attention. The packing was very similar as yours. I have a thread about my restoration in the motorcycle thread.

Pramod