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    A journey to remember! Over 1.5K fur babies have travelled long-distance in train this year in India

    Synopsis

    The Central Railways (CR) witnessed a spike of almost 50 per cent in pet travel bookings, as compared to the last financial year.

    pets on trainiStock
    This year, almost 1,586 train bookings were made by people travelling with their pets.
    During the initial stage of the Covid-19 pandemic, people were not only sick or trapped at home, many were also lonely and looking for comfort. This led to a boom in pet adoption during the lockdown as people brought a loving fur baby home.

    But after the world resumed its pace and the travel industry slowly started to open up, it meant that people were finally free to step out. When the people were finally allowed to travel after a few long years of restrictions and virus outbreak, it led to a huge boom in the travel industry in all different sectors.

    However, this time people also packed a bag for their pets. As per a report in Times of India, the Central Railways (CR) witnessed a spike of almost 50 per cent in pet travel bookings in 2022-23, as compared to the last financial year.

    This year, almost 1,586 train bookings were made by people travelling with their pets, whereas in the previous financial year, a total of 1,068 pets were booked by people for travel on long-distance trains on Central Railway. As per these numbers, the CR saw a jump of 48 per cent on pet travel bookings via trains this year.

    A lot of people prefer taking the train over flights as not many airlines allow bookings for pets, and those that do, require a lot of procedure and mandatory approvals. While travelling in the train, pets can be booked for travelling in dog boxes in parcel vans that are next to the guard's cabins or in the first class an AC first class if the entire four berths in the bay are booked.

    As per the rules in India, while travelling in trains, a pet dog can be carried along with you as long as the pet is in a dog box. They can be taken in the second-class luggage and brake van (SLR). Pets are also allowed to travel with the passenger in the AC first class and the first-class compartments if the whole coupe(2 berther or 4 berther) is booked by the passenger or a group of passengers, exclusively to be used by them.

    However, there are some rules and restrictinons on travel for wild animals including rabbits and birds.

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