If you are a pet owner and you are wondering about how to travel with pets on a train in India then you might be having so many questions in your mind. I too had those questions, lack of information on the Indian railway portal makes it more difficult.

But worry not I will answer all of your questions in this article, I have also created the video version of this article which you can watch here.

This article is applicable for all kinds of pets like dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, and Birds.

So, the question here is

“Can travel with pets on the train?”

Yes! you can, but there are only two different methods.

  • Carrying your pet with you in the coach.
  • Keeping your pet in the guard van.

If you want to know how to travel with a pet on a budget then read the second option here. In this article, I will explain the first step.

Carrying your pet with you in the coach.

Booking the Ticket

This method is only applicable if you book tickets in the 1st class AC coach. There are two types of cabins in the 1st AC. Depending upon the availability you will be assigned seats in any of them. Before moving further let me show you how COUPE or CABIN looks like.

COUPE

In this type of cabin, there are only two seats as you can see in the image below.

1st Class AC COUPE (Image Source: https://fottam.com/ac-first-class-indian-train/)

CABIN

If you want to take your pet with you in the coach then you have to book the 1st Class AC tickets and book the whole cabin for yourself. The coupe is a small cabin in which 2 people can sit. If your pet is small then you can easily travel with them in a Coupe.

If you are having a big dog and traveling with 3 or more Family members then you have to book the CABIN. The cabin has 4 seats and 3+ family members cab easily fit in there.

1st Class CABIN (Image source: https://fottam.com/indian-railways-ac-first-class-cabin-interiors/)

Indian Railways has a rule which you should keep in mind before traveling on the Train with your pet. If you are traveling the 1st Class AC train and suppose one of your co-passengers raises a concern regarding the pet and he complains to the ticket checker.

Then in that case your pet will immediately be taken away and will be kept in the guard van!

To avoid such a situation you can either book the whole CABIN (4 seats) for yourself or you can book the COUPE (2 seats) at your convenience.

The price of 1st class AC tickets as of now is around 3775 INR/person (approximately)

An additional step to get COUPE

If you are traveling alone or you are traveling with another family member/friend then it is better to get a coupe.

You have to follow the following procedure step by step!

  • Book the 1st Class AC tickets (CABIN – 4 seat or COUPE – 2 Seat) as per your preference
  • Get a copy of your tickets and write an application to the CHEIF RESERVATION OFFICER of the station from which you will be boarding the train (You can find the format below )
  • Submit the application to the CHEIF RESERVATION OFFICER and request him/her to allocate the CABIN or COUPE to you.
  • Get the Fitness certificate of your pet from the Vet day before the journey.
  • On the day of the journey reach at least 3 hours before departure at the station.
  • Go to the parcel office and show them your tickets and Fitness certificate of your pet and ask them to book your pet, they will weigh your pet and ask you to pay normal parcel charges. and will issue receipt like this.
how to travel with pet in india-receipt

Food and water

The pets eat fairly less in the journey as compared to the food they eat at home. you can keep some dry food and water. feed them a few times a day and then remove the bowls. Trains shake too much so if water will fell out it will be a mess.

Taking care of pet’s pee and poop

The pets usually get stressed during traveling so they don’t eat or drink much. In my face my pet didn’t eat anything not did he peed or pooped. If you are traveling with a dog then you have to take them on a walk whenever the train stops at the station with a longer halt.

In the case of a cat, I used a cardboard box and filled it with lots of shredded newspaper. I also kept some more as a backup with me. Whenever the cat wanted to do their business they did it then I threw the whole clump in the dustbin.

Please don’t throw it out from the train door.

I hope this article will help you prepare in case if you have some queries you can ask me on Facebook or Instagram 

You can watch the video for full details on YouTube