National Association of Railroad Passengers: www.narprail.org

Pet Policies on Amtrak Trains

Many people ask why Amtrak does not allow pets on trains (other than registered service animals, as required by federal law).

The idea is not a new one. Amtrak (and its predecessors) allowed pets on board until 1976, often in three places—sleeping car rooms, parlor cars (in carriers), and in baggage cars.

Amtrak changed the policy in 1976. Pets were banned from sleeping and parlor cars. They were allowed in containers of specified dimensions in the baggage car (on those trains that had them). Passengers were allowed to visit them en route during station stops of ten minutes or more “when passenger safety and operating conditions permit, by making arrangements with the train conductor.” The reason for the change seems to have been the need to thoroughly clean sleeping car rooms whenever passengers changed over en-route. [Smoking is now also banned in such rooms.] NARP objected to the change at the time.

Then in 1977, the federal government issued new animal welfare regulations affecting carriage of pets on trains. There were new requirements for the heating and air conditioning of railroad cars that carry live animals, and for providing a constant supply of fresh water to animals. The agency issuing the requirements was the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), acting under the Federal Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (as amended in 1976). Amtrak determined that it would need to spend $13.8 million on baggage car changes and special animal shelters in stations to satisfy the new regulations, and ended the carriage of pets rather than comply.

NARP believes that carriage of pets on trains is desirable, if it can be done legally and affordably. In the early 1990’s, Amtrak was looking at allowing it on the Auto Train when it got new bi-level equipment. The idea was to convert an area in the lower level of certain coaches that had been designed as a baggage room into a kennel that would have been accessible from within that coach and could conceivably have access to the water and ventilation system of that coach. That project was not carried through.