johnr57
Member
- Joined
- 29 Mar 2013
- Messages
- 229
Good evening, if a passenger has a large (but well behaved) dog can they buy an additional ticket and seat reservation for the dog ? Of course the dog would not sit on the seat but probably under it.
-
Our new ticketing site is now live! Using either this or the original site (both powered by TrainSplit) helps support the running of the forum with every ticket purchase! Find out more and ask any questions/give us feedback in this thread!
Passenger Dogs
- Thread starter johnr57
- Start date
- Status
Sponsor Post - registered members do not see these adverts; click here to register, or click here to log in
R
RailUK Forums
LOL The Irony
On Moderation
It varies from toc to toc on when you have to purchase a ticket for your dog. Despite living near equidistance from 2 train stations, my dog has never been on a train.
Islineclear3_1
Established Member
Try asking the good 'ol folk of Sarf or sarf-east London and see what they say 
No, you can’t reserve a seat specifically for a dog, even if the dog sits underneath it. You can just get another seat reservation if you like but if a paying passenger comes to sit there they’re entitled to, whether you have an extra ticket or not.
The only time when this applies is with assistance dogs. Very common that I used to book a pair of priority seats for someone with a dog - usually a blind or partially sighted customer.
Egg Centric
Established Member
OTOH if your dog can do "puppy dog eyes" you might be able to dissuade someone from taking the seat.
Doesn't necessarily work though - about 15-20 years ago a heartless commuter forced my parents' minature schnauzer onto my knees somewhere around Leuchars...
(He had every right to obviously. But she was gazing into his SOUL and, well, I think the abyss stared back at her, you know?)
Doesn't necessarily work though - about 15-20 years ago a heartless commuter forced my parents' minature schnauzer onto my knees somewhere around Leuchars...
(He had every right to obviously. But she was gazing into his SOUL and, well, I think the abyss stared back at her, you know?)
RailWonderer
Established Member
A mid morning train to Liverpool St always used to have the Guide Dog society on board with 12 labradors at a time sat on the floor, playing with each other in the vestibule area and aisle next to their group of trainers and I never heard anyone complain. Boarding passengers just walked around them or used another set of doors.
I was on a train back from Manchester to London in first and a woman was carrying a cat in a box on the other seat and again, the seat was unreserved and the cat out the way so no problem there. VTEC (no surprise there) promoted pets on their trains for a while and did not require reservations for them either.
I was on a train back from Manchester to London in first and a woman was carrying a cat in a box on the other seat and again, the seat was unreserved and the cat out the way so no problem there. VTEC (no surprise there) promoted pets on their trains for a while and did not require reservations for them either.
Last edited by a moderator:
Which ones charge? I know Avanti, LNER, Scotrail, XC, Northern, TPE, TfW, LNWR, SWR and LO definitely don't charge, and I travel with some pretty big dogs
Attachments
edwin_m
Veteran Member
Or the opposite, look like the sort of dog that isn't to be trifled with.
When it first opened (don't know if it still does), the notice by the Tyne and Wear Metro ticket machines said that guide dogs and "lap dogs" travelled free. Fortunately our fox terrier would happily jump onto our laps if invited, though I don't think an inspector ever asked us to prove his eligibility. I believe he was the first dog to cross the Queen Elizabeth Bridge in passenger service, having been unwillingly dragged out of bed by my brother at silly o'clock to be sat near the front of the first service train.
Of no use in this country but in Denmark it is indeed how the OP states - even when trains have been full on some of the very busy holiday/tourist routes, nobody has ever presumed they can sit in the empty seat. Yes you have to pay for the seat and reservation but it allows the dog to have its own space next to its owner.
The rule in Germany (on DB at any rate) is I believe that dogs in a carrier are free so long as they are "no larger than a domestic cat".
This does not seem to me to be a terribly well defined rule.
Shimbleshanks
Member
Now that the bird flu restrictions have been listed, is there any reason why I can't take chicken on a train. (A well behaved chicken, in a carrier, of course...)
It seems to be a (remarkably un-German) very sensible way of distinguishing between "small dogs" and "large dogs" without producing an enormous list of breeds or having to produce a set of scales or tape measure every time. As long one errs on the side of the passenger / dog, there shouldn't be much of an issue.
edwin_m
Veteran Member
Also, the previous post mentions the dogs being in carriers. As far as I know cat carriers are all about the same size, and the train operator doesn't care whether there's a cat or a dog inside. I don't know if "dog carriers" for larger dogs are a thing, but I guess they'd be pretty hard to lift so dogs of that size probably have to travel on their own four feet.
Seemingly not!
There’s nothing specific to prevent it under the bylaws. The NRCoT permit small domestic animals to be carried for no extra charge, and state that all animals other than dogs must be in a carrier.
Even the most flatulent live chicken can’t smell any worse than its dead equivalent in a KFC bargain bucket
.We take our harrier hound on trains many times a year, he just some how gets under the table, seat… some times in the isle he’s a stubborn bigger at times.. also sits on my knee which is fun for a 26kg hound
Been on a train from new street before with 15 rabbits in carriers as some woman was rescuing them guard wasn’t too pleased to start with but gave up and helped load and unload them from the 170
Been on a train from new street before with 15 rabbits in carriers as some woman was rescuing them guard wasn’t too pleased to start with but gave up and helped load and unload them from the 170
Shimbleshanks
Member
But is a chicken a domestic animal? (They are chez nous, but generally they're farm creatures...)Seemingly not!
There’s nothing specific to prevent it under the bylaws. The NRCoT permit small domestic animals to be carried for no extra charge, and state that all animals other than dogs must be in a carrier.
Even the most flatulent live chicken can’t smell any worse than its dead equivalent in a KFC bargain bucket
glasgowniteowl
On Moderation
Actually you can get a seat reservation specifically for a dog, under certain circumstances though
Assistance dogs play the smart card to support rail customers | Rail Delivery Group News
Rail companies launch information card and other aids for people supported by assistance dogs on trains The cards explain why the assistance dog needs space under an empty seat Assistance dog owners are able to book a free extra seat in advance on some services for their dog to lie under.
media.raildeliverygroup.com
Nobody’s talking about assistance dogs here though.Actually you can get a seat reservation specifically for a dog, under certain circumstances though
Assistance dogs play the smart card to support rail customers | Rail Delivery Group News
Rail companies launch information card and other aids for people supported by assistance dogs on trains The cards explain why the assistance dog needs space under an empty seat Assistance dog owners are able to book a free extra seat in advance on some services for their dog to lie under.
glasgowniteowl
On Moderation
No but you said you can't get a reservation for a seat for a dog, just pointing out that is technically incorrect as you can in fact get a reservation for a seat for a dog, as long as it is an assistance dog, it's still a seat reservation for a dog
It’s not actually a seat reservation though.
This thread reminds me of a trip I took on Britrail in 1990. I had purchased a weekend first ticket and was comfortably seated next to a window in first class. A few minutes later a lady boarded with a wooden basket that looked like a picnic basket. She seated herself and settled in. Then the cat in the bag started expressing its displeasure as pulled out of Euston. It would settle down and then start squalling. About 40 minutes into the trip the smell of cat urine wafted through the car. I looked around. No one's expression changed. It hissed in outrage and yowled some more. Nobody said a ward. To make matters worse the train traveled on a diversion which added an hour delay because they needed a diesel locomotive to haul the train over tracks with no catenary. I was traveling to Scotland. This trip gave me a glimpse of the stoic nature of the British.
I've taken pigeons on a train a few times, without any difficulty.
(Not loose, though.)
Of course, once upon a time there were whole trains just for pigeons...
Egg Centric
Established Member
Elab?
Unrelated question - best way to humanely prevent pigeon nests? A live issue with some of my family atm.
References abound. It used to be quite a major activity, on scales from big trains down to one or two birds in a basket. Lots of stuff here just to get started: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/8027-pigeon-traffic/
Block access when there are no birds there. Or put junk there that denies them a foothold - slippery plastic things like empty milk containers or PET bottles, but not so many of them that they pack into a mass.
Or little laser pointers on long springy wires so they bounce about in the wind. Pigeons hate the moving dot - exactly the opposite of cats.
QueensCurve
Established Member
- Joined
- 22 Dec 2014
- Messages
- 1,975
On a recent journey from Brum to Plymouth I had a very large dog - looked like a polar bear - sat on my feet for for a good part of the journey.
- Status