Indian Railway Rules for Travelling With Your Dog

Travelling With Your Dog
Travelling with your dog is not easy. It needs a great deal of planning.

Here are some ideas:
https://hubpages.com/animals/The-Way-To-Give-Your-Pet-A-Treat

Are You Allowed To Take your Dog in a Train?

A passenger can take a dog with him if he books a two or four berth compartment in the first A.C. carriage of the train. No other passengers should be travelling with him in that compartment. If, however, there are fellow passengers, they should not object to the presence of the dog. If there is any objection, the dog will be removed to the brake van during the journey and the passenger will not get a refund for the amount he paid when the dog was booked in the A.C. compartment.

In all other compartments, dogs are not allowed to be with the passengers. However, a dog can be booked as luggage in the brake van, depending on the train. All trains do not carry pets in the guard vans. The super-fast trains do not carry dogs.

The Initial Procedure

• If you want to travel with your dog in a train, you need to reach the station well ahead of time, especially if you are booking the dog in the guard's van. If another dog has been booked before yours, you will not be able to take your dog in the train.
• Dogs have to be taken to the parcel office, weighed, and a fee paid. The passenger will then obtain a receipt which has to be shown to the Ticket Collector. This booking slip should be kept safely and produced at the time when you need to collect your dog from the guard's van at the end of your journey.

When travelling in the guard's van, a dog weighing up to 30 kg is allowed. In the first A.C. compartment, a dog weighing 60 kg is allowed. 

A woman travelling alone, with children who are less than twelve years of age, can take the dog with her in the first A.C. compartment by paying the charges for the dog's travel in the guard's van. If another lady passenger joins her later, the dog can only stay there with her consent. If the lady objects to the dog's presence, the dog is moved to the guard's van.

Charges

Dogs are charged just like luggage. The minimum fee is Rs. 10 per dog. So, if your dog weighs about 10 kg, you will have to pay about Rs 100. 

Dogs travelling in the guards van are charged less than those travelling in the first A.C. compartments of the train, except in the case of a 'seeing-eye' dog who is accompanying his blind master in a first class carriage. In that case, the dog is charged as per the rates of the guard's van. Dogs that are found without a booking slip, will be charged six times the amount.

Picture courtesy: www.freeimages.com 

When The Train Arrives

• Your dog will have to be placed in the built-in coop in the guard's van at the end of the train. They allow two dogs in it at one given time, but both dogs should belong to the same owner.  There is usually one such coop in a train, placed in the guard's van at the back. Some long distance trains may have a second guard's van in the front of the train, with another coop there.
• Your dog must have a collar and chain. It is safer to tie the dog inside the coop.

During The Journey

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• You have to make your own arrangements for your dog's food and water. So, you will have to go to the guard's van several times during your journey to feed your dog. 
• You will need to find out when the train will make a long halt so that you can take your dog out to ease himself.

The Pros of Taking Your Dog In A Train

• Travelling with your dog in a train is definitely cheaper than flying with him.
• If your dog is travelling in a first class compartment with you, he will be very comfortable. 

The Cons of Taking Your Dog In A Train

Based on my own personal experiences, I do not recommend taking your dog in the guard's van. 

• The cages in the guard's van are dirty, cramped up and claustrophobic. I have heard stories of dogs that have managed to escape from broken cages when the train has halted at a station, and disappeared. 

           Some dogs have not made it to the end of the journey due to the excessive heat or cold.

• Visiting your dog in the guard's van several times during the journey to feed him or walk him  is not a feasible option.

          My own dog used to be so upset when he was put in the cage that he never ate or drank while he was there, he would be very upset and cry the whole time. To add to that, the guard would complain about him and indirectly demand money because he had to put up with a cranky dog that had been separated from his family and was in a strange, scary place that was all dark, smelly, cramped up, and made loud, terrible sound as it moved along. 

Travelling with your dog by train by the Indian Railways is a cumbersome process.

Read my personal experiences here:
https://canine-thoughts.blogspot.com/2018/08/introduction-well-my-little-one-is-now.html

References:
https://www.dogspot.in/travel-your-dog-indian-railways/
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Travelling-with-pets-in-train-cheap-but-complicated/articleshow/19748554.cms