bike on train in india?? - Horizons Unlimited

**zion1** · #1 11 Dec 2003

has anyone tried putting their bike on the train in india?
we have seen many enfields on the train but none large western bikes (we are riding a 1150 gs). the station manager at one indian station said that he did not recommend it as it was likely to be damaged and he was not sure if they would manageing carrying all 270 kg's safely on the train.
we would however really like to put it on the train (from south to delhi) as we do not feel like 7 more trunk road days....
any experiences/suggestions??

kind regards

zion

**beddhist** · #2 13 Dec 2003

I was in India in '88. Put my bike and trailer in a train In Pakistan, which should be similar. If I remember correctly they used a plank to whell the bike into the carriage, so wasn't a problem.

You don't say where in the South you are. I found the going easy up the West coast from Cochin via Goa to Bombay. There wasn't much traffic on that route. From Goa to Bombay there used to be a car ferry, but I didn't see the point in taking it and don't know whether it still operates. Besides, I took a holiday from travelling in Goa.

I wouldn't recommend entering Bombay with a bike. Avoid the Grand Trunk road like the plague, but there should be minor roads you can take. I have fond memories of the trip through the Western Ghats from East of Bombay NW to Khajuraho, but I don't know whether this is at all in the direction you need to go.

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Salut from Southern France, the bikers' paradise,

Peter.

**Simon Kennedy** · #3 11 Feb 2004

[B]has anyone tried putting their bike on the train in india?

Yes, I did it. Goa to Delhi.

Paperwork not too difficult. The problem is the logistics of getting the bike on the train--it will be lifted on, with no crane etc by the platform staff. Difficult. Not impossible. They never know which end the baggage car will be, so it can be pretty stressful, running the length of the platform pushing the bike with hundreds of people in the way. In the heat. Remember, there is no special freight train, so you have only the time that the train stops to load passengers to get the machine on board. So you might want to pick an early morning, late night option.
Oh, they wrap the bike in cloth and carboard. Obligatory. Costs not much. Have a look at http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/tst...edy/000742.php to see how my Transalp looked.
It goes without saying that once on board it will have all sorts chucked on top on it.

All this is designed to make your blogs more interesting.
If you are prepeared for the above, there is no reason not to put it on a train. I was happy not to have to ride a thousand miles back to Delhi.