Passengers of the Indian Railways will be liable to pay a fine for extra luggage

Just like airlines, passengers traveling in the Indian railways should now beware of carrying excess baggage.

In the recent times, a number of complaints regarding the excess of luggage in the train compartments have been registered. Considering them, Indian Railways has decided to implement its old baggage allowance rules, which existed over three decades ago.

An official informed that under the new rules passengers with overweight luggage will be penalized to pay up to six times the stipulated amount.

According to the proposed standards, a sleeper class passenger can carry 40 kilograms luggage, while a second class will be allowed for 35 kilograms without paying an extra money.

A sleeper class would be permitted to carry a maximum of 80 kilograms and will become liable to pay for the excess baggage at the parcel office. Whereas, a second class would be permitted a maximum of 70 kilograms on the same condition. Besides, all the excess belongings would be put in the luggage van.

Ved Prakash, director of information and publicity of the Railway Board, said, “The rules were already in place, we are just enforcing them strictly now. Passengers are allowed to book and carry excess stuff in the luggage van, up to the maximum limit, on the payment of a fee equivalent to one-and-a-half times the luggage rate.”

He also remarked, “If a passenger is found travelling with un-booked luggage weighing more than the free allowance, the excess weight will be charged six times the luggage rate. The move is to ensure passenger convenience and address the issue of cramped compartments.”

Officials informed that the baggage checking in the railways will not be same as the airports, where the luggage of every individual passenger is weighed separately. Rather, random checks among the passengers will be carried out in the railways.

Likewise, 70 kilograms of luggage is permitted to an AC first class passenger without any charges. Moreover, they will be allowed a maximum of 150 kilograms by paying for the excess of 80 kilograms.

On the other hand, only 50 kilograms of luggage is allowed without any payment for an AC two-tier passenger. Besides, by paying for the excess 50 kilograms, passengers travelling in this class are allowed for a maximum of 100 kilograms.

It will also be ensure by the national transporter that the trunks, suitcases and boxes abide by the prescribed measurements. These measurement are100 cm x 60 cm x 25 cm (length, breadth, height) for the personal luggage that will be carried in the compartments

Prakash said that in case where any one of the dimensions exceed for the trunks, suitcases and boxes, they would have to be carried in the luggage van.

In order to enforce the rules, Indian Railways has launched a special drive (1-6 June) across all the regions.