How to transport Dogs by Train?

We often have to travel due to various reasons and take our pets with us. Maybe you are changing cities, or going for a long vacation and do not want to leave your pet behind.

So, in this article we are going to learn the tricks, tips and some caveats when it comes to transporting puppies and dogs via train. If we can’t use our own car, then making use of trains for this purpose is probably the best idea. Buses maybe too crowded and Air Travel requires you to fulfil a lot many legal formalities.

The things that we will discuss in this article will also be applicable to some other pets, such as cats and rabbits.

Table of Contents

• Travel with dogs while keeping them near you
• Travel with dogs while keeping them in a luggage van
• Parcel your dogs

There are three major ways to transport dogs by a train:

• Travel with dogs while keeping them near you.
• Travel with dogs while keeping them in a luggage van.
• Parcel your dogs (You will not be travelling with them)

Let’s see how to go about this.

Travel with dogs while keeping them near you

If you are very protective regarding your pets and often get anxious regarding their safety (like me), then it will be a good idea to keep them closer to you during travel, i.e. in your own train compartment.

This way you can take care of them better, and they will not get stressed or anxious in an alien environment. Rather they will enjoy the commute and the scenery with you.

However, keep in mind that you can carry your pets only in I AC compartments. There are no pets allowed in a Sleeper Class, III AC or II AC.

Even then it may cause some troubles to your co-passengers. So, make sure that they are comfortable. Or to avoid that, book extra tickets, so that whole I AC coupe is yours, or travel with a friend. This is the best way to travel with your pets on a train.

Note

If you have young puppies, then it would rather be preferable to keep them near you. Small puppies get afraid pretty easily and are more vulnerable to cold/heat, hunger, etc.

But just buying a I AC ticket, or booking the whole coupe does not mean that you can carry any pet with you. You will still have to buy their tickets separately by going to the parcel booking office. And this ticket cannot be bought online. You will have to do this manually – by often having to stand in a line and wait for hours. So, if you are planning to take your pets with you, reach the train station at least 3 hours beforehand.

Before going to the parcel booking office, make sure you have:

• Photocopy of an ID, e.g. Aadhaar card (carry original too, as they may want to cross-check). ID should have the same name that is on your ticket.
• Your own ticket – take printout (just showing them on your mobile may not be sufficient). They want to ensure that you are also travelling with your pets.
• Photocopy of Pet Vaccination Card

Warning

If any of your co-passengers are not comfortable with your pets, and they report it to the railway/train authorities, then your pet will be transferred to the luggage van. You will not be given back his ticket money either.

Travel with dogs while keeping them in a luggage van

You may choose not to keep your dogs with you while travelling. Rather you can keep them in a luggage van of the same train in which you are travelling. Such luggage vans often have special cells to keep pets.

Note

Some trains have proper pet cages. However, some don’t. So, if you are planning to keep your pet in a luggage van or in guard’s compartment, do take along a cage with you. The cage should be big enough so that your dog can stand up and turn 360° without touching the sides of the cage.

It will allow you to travel with ease, without having to take care of your pet and be vigilant all the time. That is, you can rest and sleep. The passengers around you will not have any issues either.

However, make sure that:

• your dog is comfortable in that cage – it is warm, keep some food and water with them, etc. Railways do not provide food to animals. This is the responsibility of the pet owners.
• you spend some time with them in the luggage van, so that they get comfortable. If possible, visit them whenever the train halts for long durations on a big station. This is even more essential if it’s a long journey.
• that luggage van reaches your destination. Some compartments of trains are often cut-off at some point during the journey. This often happens in long route trains. So, talk to the train employees and make sure that the luggage van having your pet is earmarked to reach your destination – that it will not be rerouted to some other place midway.

To be able to keep your pet in a luggage van, you need to buy Sleeper Class, III AC or II AC ticket. In these kinds of compartments, you cannot carry your pets with you. You will have to put them in a luggage van.

The fare will not be too high, unless you are travelling by a train like Rajdhani. Fare also varies as per the weight of your pet and the distance of your travel.

Note

If your dog is very large and cannot fit in the dog box of the luggage van or brake van, then it will have to be carried in a special box meant for horses. You may have to pay some extra money for this.

Parcel your dogs

Dogs and Puppies can also be parcelled alone. That is, it’s not necessary for a person to accompany them.

This is often done by pet suppliers. If you order a puppy from another city or state, then there’s a high possibility that it will be delivered to you via a train. Most of the formalities are the same, as when you carry them with you.

• You will have to go to parcel department and pay for the puppy.
• You will need to submit the ID of the person who is going to receive the puppy, vaccination certificate of the puppy, etc.
• The dog/puppy will be carried in the luggage van or in the guard’s compartment.
• Puppy/Dog must be in a cage.

If you have ordered a puppy from a pet store in another city/state, then they will most probably send you a picture of the puppy/dog before loading it onto the train – just to prove that it was well and healthy before the journey. If anything happens to the puppies/dogs during the journey, these pet sellers and even railways take no responsibility. Just keep that in mind.

You may also request them to send someone along with the puppies, so as to make sure that they are safe and well taken care of. Some pet sellers do provide this service at some extra cost.

Winding Up

So, now you know how to take a puppy/dog along with you in a train or parcel it through it. Train is a very safe and pretty cheap form of transportation. In most trains you will not have to spend more than Rs. 100-200. Though in trains like Rajdhani you may have to cough up over Rs. 500. (It will also depend on the length of your travel though)

Do explore this option if you cannot use your own car for this purpose. It’s definitely better than transporting your pets through bus. But then that’s just our opinion.

Moreover, the things we discussed about in this article are also applicable to other pets like cats, rabbits and guinea pigs, etc.