A current tweet from Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, showing a passenger travelling in a train with her dog in the air-conditioned compartment, went viral. Initially shared by the user on Instagram, where it gathered countless views, it was later on shared on Twitter.
The minister said while retweeting a guest’s initial tweet, stating “Indian Railways at your service 24/7”. A big part of the online discussions that followed the tweet was netizens responding with shock that dogs might take a trip by long-distance trains.
Can travelers take a trip with animals on Indian trains?
Air India and, of late, Akasa Air might enable bring dogs on domestic flights, however Indian Railways stays the indisputable leading option of animal owners to take a trip with their animals.
Data reveal around 2,500 animals travel by train on a monthly basis on Indian Railways.
How can animals be handled trains?
The Railways provide a range of choices for carriage.
Dogs can be booked in the ‘dog boxes’ with the train guard in parcel vans connected to a lot of trains, based on schedule. The schedule of such dog boxes in a train can be examined ahead of time from the parcel workplace of coming from station.
Alternatively, puppies and kittens which can suit an animal basket can be brought by travelers in any class after payment of the typical reservation charges. The charges can be discovered on the Indian Railways website.
What are the dos and don’ts of taking a trip with animals?
Dog/cat owners can take a trip along with their animals in air conditioner First Class just however there are specific conditions.
Railway guidelines state that just when the whole four-berth cabin or a two-berth coupe (suggesting a set of one lower berth and one upper berth) is booked by the pet-owning guest on a single ticket after payment of typical reservation charges, can the pet travel inside the train.
The reserving charges are computed by the parcel workplace based upon the weight of the animal and the range of travel. In case of waitlisted tickets, travelers can ask for allocation of such a four-berth cabin or a two-berth coupe for bring animals, to the regional divisional train supervisor’s workplace or General Manager’s workplace, ahead of time. The addresses are available on the website.
Since there is no choice yet for the guest to notify Railways while reserving the ticket that she will be bring an animal in addition to her, authorities state that when they familiarize of it, they provide it due factor to consider while setting aside the berths. However, if an unique coupe or whole cabin cannot be set aside, the guest needs to get a composed no-objection from co-passengers in the cabin in order to bring the animal.
Considering the rules included, authorities encourage travelers bring animals to reach the station a couple of hours beforehand so regarding be all set in time for the departure.
Station authorities state that it is good to bring the recognition files of the guest, like a copy of the Aadhaar card and the vaccination certificate of the animal.
In initially air conditioner or very first class, the optimum variety of dogs which can be booked with a guest is not more than the variety of travelers. In other words, one guest can bring just one dog.
What are the charges?
The dog brought in a dog box is charged Rs 30 per kg per animal dog, and when brought in air conditioner very first class and First Class with a guest it is charged Rs 60 per kg per dog.
Dogs are not enabled to be brought in AC2 tier, AIR CONDITIONING 3 tier, AIR CONDITIONING Chair Car, Sleeper Class and Second Class Compartments. Puppies/kittens which can be brought in a basket can be brought by owners in all the classes after reserving with the parcel workplace.
The freight charges of Rs 20 per kg are charged for puppies and kittens. In a specific train, just one dog box is supplied and just one dog is booked per train on first-cum-first served basis.
There is no arrangement for advance reservation of dogs. Dogs are secured the dog boxes in the existence of the owner who is accountable for feeding the dog en path.
