Indian Railways new luggage rule from today: Check free baggage limit and excess luggage charges

Passengers travelling on Indian Railways with confirmed reserved tickets can now book excess personal luggage online while reserving their train tickets through the IRCTC platform. The facility, introduced from July 31, removes the earlier requirement of visiting railway parcel offices at stations for passengers carrying luggage beyond the free allowance.

The new service is available only for passengers holding confirmed reserved tickets and applies to personal luggage that will be carried inside the reserved coach. The facility will operate within the weight limits prescribed by Indian Railways.

During online ticket booking, passengers can declare luggage exceeding their free baggage allowance. The system will provide details about class-wise free luggage limits, maximum permissible weight, restricted items, applicable charges and penalty provisions before the booking is completed.


The Railway Board has directed all zonal railways to implement the facility from July 31 after the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) completed the required system development.

Free luggage allowance based on travel class

The free baggage limit varies according to the passenger's travel class.

AC First Class passengers can carry up to 70 kg of luggage free of charge, with a maximum permissible limit of 150 kg after paying applicable charges.

Passengers travelling in First Class and AC 2-Tier can carry up to 50 kg without charges, while the maximum limit is 100 kg with excess luggage fees.

Sleeper Class passengers have a free allowance of 40 kg and can carry up to 80 kg by paying additional charges.

Second Class passengers can carry up to 35 kg free and up to 70 kg after paying excess luggage charges.

For AC 3-Tier, AC 3 Economy and AC Chair Car, the maximum permissible luggage limit is 40 kg. Since the free allowance and maximum limit are the same, excess luggage booking is not available in these classes, except where the free allowance itself is chargeable.

How to book excess luggage online

• Visit the Indian Railways parcel portal and register on the platform.
• Log in and enter the origin and destination railway stations.
• Select the train from the options suggested by the system.
• Fill in the Forwarding Note with details of the luggage.
• Check the estimated freight charges displayed by the system.
• Submit the online Forwarding Note.
• Take a printout of the e-Forwarding Note and hand over the luggage at the parcel office or godown at the originating station.
• Railway staff will weigh the luggage and calculate the final freight charges.
• Pay the required charges and collect the Railway Receipt (RR).

How to track excess luggage online

• Use the Track & Trace facility to check the status of the luggage online.
• Passengers will receive an SMS notification once the luggage reaches the destination station.
• Show the original Railway Receipt (RR) at the destination station to collect the luggage.

Indian Railways specifies bag size limits

Railways has also defined the maximum size of luggage allowed inside train coaches.

Passengers travelling in AC 3-Tier, AC 3 Economy and AC Chair Car can carry bags up to 55 cm x 45 cm x 22.5 cm.

For AC First Class, AC 2-Tier, Sleeper Class and General Class, the maximum permitted bag size is 100 cm x 60 cm x 25 cm.

Excess luggage charges and calculation rules

Passengers carrying luggage beyond the free allowance will have to pay 1.5 times the normal luggage rate. The minimum charge for excess luggage is Rs 30.

The charges will be calculated in slabs of 10 kg, with a minimum distance of 50 km considered for calculation.