Dogs make excellent travelling companions. Unfortunately, many people must leave their four-legged friends behind when they plan vacations or travel for work. Separation anxiety is common in pets, and it may be devastating for their owners as well.

If you don’t want to leave your dog at a pet hostel or with a family member, try bringing them with you! Yes, because train rides can provide you with the comfort and seclusion of home.

Procedure to carry Dogs with you on your trips

• Book the 1st Class AC tickets (CABIN – 4 seats or COUPE – 2 Seats) as per your requirement. We would recommend getting your tickets issued directly at the station for better seat allotment.
• Get a copy of your confirmed tickets and write an application to the CHEIF RESERVATION OFFICER of the station from which you will be boarding the train.
• Complete all the vaccinations of your pet and keep the Vaccination Card ready. Get the Fitness certificate of your pet from the Vet 24-48 hrs before the journey.
• You will get the CABIN/COUPE confirmation almost 4 hrs before the departure time.
• On confirmation of the same, reach at least 2 hours before departure and go to the parcel office and show them your tickets, Vaccination Cards, and Fitness certificate of your pet.
• Carry photocopies of all and the documents, your ticket and one Photo ID proof and ask them to book your pet, they will weigh your pet and ask you to pay normal parcel charges. (It’s about 60/kg for the pet)
• Food and water
• The pets eat fairly less on the journey as compared to the food they eat at home. you can keep some dry food and water. Keep some chew sticks or bones for them to keep them engaged.
• The pets usually get stressed during travelling so they don’t eat or drink much. If your pets are well trained, they do not dirty the surroundings they live in. Check for stations with long halts and then take them on a walk whenever the train stops at the station.
• *** CARRY BASIC CLEANING MATERIALS & DO A LITTLE CLEANING FOR THE NEXT PASSENGERS WHO BOARD (if any)

Things to keep in mind

DO NOT get off the train if the halt is short. We have seen hundreds of cases of train getting missed due to this. Some dogs are big, and taking them back into the train once they have got down, might take time. So, until there is a sufficient time gap, of at least 20 mins halt, one should avoid getting off the train.

Read More: Recently a passenger boarded a Vande Bharat train and could not get out as the doors closed. A similar situation could entail but on opposite ends.

Dogs can be carried in Luggage Compartment

A pet dog can be transported in a dog box in second class luggage and a brake van, according to indianrailways.gov.in (SLR). A dog is also authorised to travel with the passenger in AC first class and first class compartments only, provided that the whole coupe is booked by the passenger or the group of passengers for exclusive usage.

A dog carried in a dog box is charged at the train’s luggage cost of 30 kg per pet dog. Dogs are also permitted to travel in AC first class and first class at a luggage charge of 60 kg per dog. They are not permitted in the AC2 tier, AC3 tier, AC chair car, sleeper class, or second class compartments.

It is to be noted that both first class and AC first class have separate cabins/coupes so that pets do not cause inconvenience to other passengers. “Booking of dogs in dog boxes is not permitted in Rajdhani/Shatabdi trains as they do not have dog boxes. In other trains, one dog box is provided and only one dog is booked per train on a first come, first served basis,” the information on the site reads.

No advance booking

There is no advance booking. Pets can be booked at the counter, one hour before train departure. Dogs locked in dog boxes will have the company of their owner who will feed them enroute. Special horse boxes can also be provided in case there are many dogs, upto 36 in case dogs are of a large size.

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