Passengers to Pay Charges for Luggage Beyond Free Allowance on Trains: Ashwini Vaishnaw

New Delhi: Train passengers carrying luggage beyond the prescribed free allowance will have to pay additional charges, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The clarification came in response to a question by MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy on whether the Railways planned to enforce baggage regulations similar to those followed at airports.

In a written reply, Vaishnaw said the Railways has already fixed class-wise limits for the amount of luggage a passenger can carry inside train compartments. These rules specify both the free allowance and the maximum quantity permitted, with charges applicable for excess baggage. He also shared the class-wise limits in a tabulated format.

As per the details provided, passengers travelling in Second Class are allowed to carry up to 35 kg of luggage free of cost, while they can carry up to 70 kg by paying charges. Sleeper Class passengers have a free allowance of 40 kg, with a maximum limit of 80 kg. Those travelling in AC 3 Tier or Chair Car are permitted a free allowance of 40 kg, which is also the maximum allowed in those classes.

For First Class and AC 2 Tier passengers, the free allowance is fixed at 50 kg, with a maximum permissible limit of 100 kg. AC First Class passengers are allowed to carry up to 70 kg free of cost and up to 150 kg on a chargeable basis. The minister clarified that the maximum limit in each class includes the free allowance.

Vaishnaw further stated that passengers can book and carry luggage beyond the free allowance inside compartments up to the maximum limit applicable to their class, by paying charges calculated at one-and-a-half times the normal luggage rate.

The minister also outlined restrictions on the size of personal luggage. Trunks, suitcases and boxes with external dimensions not exceeding 100 cm in length, 60 cm in breadth and 25 cm in height are allowed inside passenger compartments. If any one of these dimensions is exceeded, such items must be booked separately and carried in the brake van or parcel van, and not inside passenger compartments.

He clarified that merchandise items are not permitted to be carried as personal luggage inside compartments. Reiterating existing railway norms, Vaishnaw said luggage exceeding the prescribed limits is transported in the brake vans of trains, subject to the maximum quantity allowed to be booked as luggage.