I am coming from London to India with my family. Our arrival will be at Delhi airport after which we will be getting a train to Jammu. We will have quite a lot of luggage with us, and I was wondering if there is any luggage allowance for Indian trains. We will have four large suitcases with three large-sized handbags, so some idea of how much luggage is allowed in Indian railways would be good to know, else we would have to make some other arrangements.
Hi there, welcome to the forum! Luggage allowances for the Indian Railways differ for the different classes. For starters, there's the Free Allowance, which allows passengers to carry luggage in the compartment, free of cost, as long as it's within the limits set by the management. Free Allowance for each class differs as well: Free Allowances for the Different Classes AC First Class - Up to 70 kilograms. AC 2 Tier Sleeper/First Class - Up to 50 kilograms. Sleeper Class - Up to 40 kilograms. Second Class - Up to 35 kilograms. AC 3 Tier Sleeper/AC Chair Car - Up t0 40 kilograms. For children aged 5 years old to 12 years, they would be allotted half of the free allowance, subject to a maximum of 50 kilograms. Then, you have the Marginal Allowance, in which you're allowed to carry luggage exceeding the Free Allowance, for the normal luggage fees, but only up to the limits set by the management. There are different rates for the different classes: Marginal Allowances for the Different Classes AC First Class - Up to 15 kilograms. AC 2 Tier Sleeper/First Class - Up to 10 kilograms. Sleeper Class - Up to 10 kilograms. Second Class - Up to 10 kilograms. AC 3 Tier Sleeper/AC Chair Car - Up t0 10 kilograms. As long as your luggage fits the above Marginal Allowances, then you'd be charged the normal luggage rates. This is, if you have booked your excess luggage in advance, before the journey commences. Just register the excess luggage in the Luggage Office, pay the required fees and cross reference the luggage ticket details. If you do not register the excess luggage in advance, then there's a surcharge of 1.5 times your luggage rate, as long as it's within the Marginal Allowance. Lastly, we have the Maximum Quantity Permitted Per Passenger. This includes the Free Allowance and the Marginal Allowance. It's the maximum that you can carry within the compartment of the Indian Railways. This also differs for the different classes: Maximum Quantities Permitted Per Passenger AC First Class - Up to 150 kilograms. AC 2 Tier Sleeper/First Class - Up to 100 kilograms. Sleeper Class - Up to 80 kilograms. Second Class - Up to 70 kilograms. AC 3 Tier Sleeper/AC Chair Car - Up t0 40 kilograms. These are the maximum weights that you can carry for each class. Beyond this, you need to have your luggage registered and carried in the brake van. If your luggage exceeds the Marginal Allowance but is within the Maximum Quantity Per Passenger, you'd be charged a higher fee. Also, if your luggage exceeds the Maximum Quantity Per Passenger and you didn't register it before the journey, then you'd be charged six times of the luggage scale rate, with a minimum of Rs. 50. Also, there are set limits for the length, height and breadth of the luggage. For the AC First Class, AC 2 Tier, Sleeper Class and Second Class, here are the limits: 100 Centimetres in Length 60 Centimetres in Breadth 25 Centimetres in Height For the AC 3 Tier, here are the limits: 55 Centimetres in Length 45 Centimetres in Breadth 22 Centimetres in Height All luggages exceeding these measurements, they have to be registered for and carried in the brake van. I hope this helps you! Make sure you weigh your luggages beforehand and measure their circumferences as well. Good luck!
Beyond the fine details given by the above poster, I would also like to point out that other people will be carrying a lot of luggage as well. So, make sure that you've booked in the ac coaches instead of the regular ones, so that your family can get individual compartments. In the other coaches, you may have to share the space, at least during the daytime, which is not safe when traveling with so much luggage, since someone might slip away a bag or two in the sleeper coaches.
