I wonder how that happened! They were not crash testing it!!!

Thanks for sharing your experiences guys, from the looks of it the option to transport by train is looking better as of now. I hope a lot more people can contribute to the poll.

Transported my friends Avenger from Bangalore to Delhi via Gati transport (Door to door service)... No dents and scratches on the bike on receival..

Paid around Rs 2800/-.. Can't seem to remeber the actual rate

Gati transports did a very decent job with this one.. Oh yes and as ashwinBK metioned earlier they did carry the bike into the transport vehicle...

okay here goes..

From >>> TO : Goa (Madgaon) to Mumbai (CST)
Mode >>> Train
Bike >>> Pulsar 180 Classic
Duration >>> less than 24 Hours
Condition >>> same as the time of sending (No damage at all)
Cost : Rs 470(transport) + 200 (packing) + Bribe {30 (railway officials)} + 100 (Porter) = Rs 800

All i can say is the packing was too good thats because we had supervised, this is the fourth time we have used the train transport service and can say that they are the best.Another thing that i noticed is that if you book the bike on luggage booking service you tend to pay more although there isn't any special care taken if opted for.

Cost of transport for my Fiero F2 was less than Rs.500, as the basic transport charge was Rs.280 plus 2% of the value of the bike, used for claiming insurance. I valued my bike at the least possible Rs.10K.
Bribing was at various stages,
1. While booking the bike: The officer said give me whatever you like, as the bike seems to be very old. I paid Rs.50.
2. Loading: Rs.30
3. Unloading&pushing: Rs.30
4. Railway cops: Demand 100 atleast.
Other charges are for packing&unpacking: Anywhere from Rs.150-300, depending on negotiation skills.
All in all, inspite of these things, I say the railways are pretty reliable, the only damage can be caused while loading&unloading from the ramp. If you are there at that time, nothing can go wrong inside, as all the vehicles are well packed.

We (Prabhu, Sunil, myself, Chetan) have had a very bad experience transporting the bikes through Packers and Movers.

Company name was Aakash Packers and Movers.

This was when we sent the bikes for Leh trip last year.

Despite a lot of packing the bikes were horribly damaged and at one time it was like whether we'll be able to start our journey to Leh or not.

It seems the original truck carrying our bikes had met an accident and then the bikes were pathetically packed in a small truck and transported to Chandigarh.

Most frustrating part was nobody in the packer movers company knew where our bikes were. After two days of calling numerous people we got our bikes and it was a sorry sight to see the bikes in that condition.

While coming back too it wasn't a pretty sight though the packers movers were different. This time it was the very famous "Gati"

It seems they had transported the bikes in a truck in which there were LPG cylinders. When sunil sir received his bike, it had a dent of the size of a fist. Apparently the small LPG cylinder had fallen on the tank on way.

I have had good/bad experiences with the train transportation too but at least it was better than these packers and movers.

Check out the album from Sunil sir which shows the condition of the bikes:

The bikes look to be badly damaged.

I feel, it is better to ride the bike(though some extra effort is required) instead of transporting it.

Well, when one has to move the bike 2500Kms you would think ten times before wanting to ride so far!

We didn't want to lose days (2-3+ days one way), in reaching delhi/chandigarh, for the Leh trip and thats why we decided to send them through packers movers which was a big mistake considering the bikes' condition.

I second Sumit. We had a similar experience too. The P&M guys (CentralCargo) took more than 15 days to get our bikes to Delhi (from Chennai). And they didn't have any clue where the bikes were.

Most of the P&M companies have tie-up with some roadway companies. The roadways company provides the truck. At some point, the goods are shifted from one lorry to another. The first lorry wouldn't have valid permits to use roads of certain states.

Our bikes are still in transit from Delhi to Chennai. We changed the P&M for the return journey. Hope we get it sans any damage.

The train gets my vote. Preferably one which originates at your city, and terminates where you want to get off. That way, you can put your bike in a sealed compartment for added security of your bike. They will seal the compartment in front of you, and break it open when you go to collect it from the destination station. And the lower cost is an added advantage as well.

Have seen enough number of damaged vehicles of close buddies which were transported by road, to stay away from them. (Refer: hisunil's beautiful Comet which he took months to restore, as well as Sumit's bike).

I had sent my P180 from Jamshedpur to Bangalore in mid 2007 thru Gati. Pathetic service: Gati ppl turned up in a small auto turned into pickup which cldnt accomodate the bike, after half an hour a proper pickup turns up. Thought he delivery was timely but the rear panel had craked open. Prolly the bhike fell down during transport or maybe sumthin fell on it.

Next time used the train for transport from Meerut to Mysore. The bike changed trains at delhi w/o ne surpervision. No scratch no damages. At a price which was 50% lesser than quoted by Gati. Its just the hassle of going all the way to the station and gettin it packed which stops ppl from opting for the train

can someone help me out here, i need to send my R15 to calcutta ASAP through train or P&M i have never done this before would appreciate a helping hand with the packing and sending it i'm in bangalore right now. pls feel free to call 9590965390

why is that that everyone is bribing railway officers??

do u guys do something illegal or its something else??

Guess you haven't yet used the railway cargo The amount saved is directly proportional to your boiled blood.