Good News For Pet Parents: Indian Railways To Begin Online Bookings For Pets

Good and happy news for all pet parents. The Ministry of Railways is planning to make a smooth and easy procedure for pet parents to take their furry kids along with them on the train. The Ministry of Railways has already proposed a proposal to start with the online reservation of tickets for pets on the trains.

The Ministry of Railways has made a proposal to make online bookings for pets for AC 1 tier. The railway ministry officials are also planning to give equal booking rights for the furbabies to the TTE (Train Ticket Examiner). This will ease the pain of the pet parents to take and carry their pets with them on the train without any hassle.

Presently pet parents have to book the tickets for their babies at the parcel booking counter available at the platform to take permission to carry their pets on the train. The train passengers were only allowed to carry their pets in the crate in the second-class luggage compartment and the brake van.

There are certain rules, regulations, and guidelines for pet parents who are traveling with their loved pets. These rules, regulations, and guidelines depend on the size of the animal. Some of the animals can only travel in the designated coaches while domestic animals such as dogs and can travel with their owners in the same coaches.

Previously the pet owners had to book a complete coupe with two or four berths of AC first class and the ticket also cost a huge amount of money. If the person was carrying his dog in a dog crate then the dog crate was charged as per the Indian Railways luggage rate which was 30 kg per dog. The dog previously was only allowed in Ac first class with a restriction of 60 kg per dog as well. They were not allowed to travel with their owners in AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, AC chair car, Sleeper class, and second class compartments.

According to several officials, the proposal of carrying pets has already been sent to CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) to modify the new changes in the software for reflecting the online booking for pets on India Railways.

Guidelines By IRCTC For The Pet Parents

• Irrespective of whether the dog parent has a Passenger Reservation System ticket or PRS ticket or IRCTC ticket booked online. The passenger has to compulsorily has to bring the dog to the luggage office at least 3 hours before the scheduled train departure.
• The person who will be carrying their pets in AC 1 tier has to pay the applicable baggage charges.
• The dogs are not allowed to travel with their owners in the AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier, AC Chair Car, Sleeper Class, and Second-Class compartments of the train. If the other fellow passengers in the compartment object to the dog’s presence then the dog will be removed from the guard van without any refund.
• The booking for the pets will require an updated health certificate from a veterinarian which should include the breed, color, and gender of the dog.
• For the pets traveling on the train, their complete and sole responsibility lies with the owner. Owners are responsible for proving them with water and food for their pets.
• The passengers who are carrying puppies along with them should carry them in a basket in all the accommodation classes.
• The passengers who are willing to travel with their furbabies would only be able to book the tickets for their pets after the first chart is prepared and also their own ticket is confirmed.
  The regulations for the pets also include no refund policy on the animal tickets whether the owner cancels the ticket, the owner decides not to travel with pets, or the train gets canceled or delayed for more than 3 hours.