Iarnrod Éireann Pets Policy

daenerysstormborn3

Not sure if this is in the right forum, the travel forum doesn't seem to have a place for this.

Basically, I have a great dane and I am just wondering what is Iarnrod Eireann's policy on transporting dogs? Looking for advice in particular from anyone who travels with a large dog regularly.

My boyfriend lives in Kilkenny and as I don't drive (my boyfriend has a fireblade and as hilarious as a side car would be on the side of that, it's not realistic) the only option is to bring my boy with me on the train. I have tried finding a kennel in Dublin but no kennel will take him because they can't accommodate his size.

I have looked on the website and it says "Dogs or other Pets must be conveyed in the guard's van. An exception applies to small dogs carried on the owners lap and guide dogs, both of which are permitted to travel in the passenger compartment. In the case of lap dogs, Iarnród Éireann station staff reserve the right to refuse access to the passenger compartment if they consider other passengers comfort and safety is likely to be affected. Any other dog must be: Secured with collar and chain and efficiently muzzled. The construction of the muzzle must render it impossible for the dog to bite any person or animal, but it should not prevent the dog from breathing freely or lapping water; or contained in a wooden case, cage, basket or hamper constructed to make it impossible for the dog to bite any person or animal. The receptacle must be sufficiently large to allow the dog to stand up and lie down with ease and comfort and must be adequately ventilated. Greyhounds must be conveyed in kennels at all times. All dogs must be properly labelled giving the name, address and destination of the owner. Charges apply, please contact your local ticket office. If there is no guard's van (non passenger carriage) on a service, pets other than the exceptions described above may not be carried on that train. Please contact your local station to ensure there is suitable accommodation for your intended journey."

It is the last part of the paragraph that confuses me, does this mean that I could plan to travel on a certain date and only be able to find out at the last minute that in fact they can't accommodate the dog and I then have to rearrange plans?

If anyone could help I would really appreciate it, sorry again if this is in the wrong forum.

The Hill Billy

Moved to Commuting & Transport from East.

HB

Cookie_Monster

the new 22ks (DMUs) mean there is generally no gaurds van anymore.
Is Kilkenny served by the Mk4 that run the cork line? If not then you are out of luck unfortunitly.

Someone more knowledgable should be along soon to confirm Mk4 or 22k I'd imagine

Ham'nd'egger

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

the new 22ks (DMUs) mean there is generally no gaurds van anymore.
Is Kilkenny served by the Mk4 that run the cork line? If not then you are out of luck unfortunitly.

Someone more knowledgable should be along soon to confirm Mk4 or 22k I'd imagine

No guard compartment on the 22000, no. The Dublin-Cork Mark 4 and Dublin-Belfast Enterprise have a guards space but even then the carriage of animals is subject to conditions.

Perhaps you can find a dog sympathetic taxi or van driver; I would do it but am in Dublin which is little use for you.

Run_to_da_hills

There is an easier way out, purchase a white stick, a dog harness and a pair of dark shades.

corktina

http://www.dsb.dk/cs/Satellite?pagename=DSBUK/Forside

Im not sure if this link will help....:D

daenerysstormborn3

It's so tempting to pretend he is a guide dog but as far as I know (i could be wrong) you are expected to present some sort of pass/id for a guide dog particularly on public transport.

It's the same with dublin bus, it's at the discretion of the bus driver whether they let you on, so you could be standing at the bus stop all day waiting on a dog loving bus driver...

Very annoyed....

Last post was about transport in denmark.... i presume that was a dig at our very ****ty transport system here ?

monument

pixiebean22 wrote: »

Last post was about transport in denmark.... i presume that was a dig at our very ****ty transport system here ?

Great Dane. The link was to Denmark's national railways operator. Dane also = Danish person.

There's an Eircom advert on TV making a joke of this at the moment too.

daenerysstormborn3

oh yeah i've seen that ad, very funny

Victor

Unless you find a suitable dog box, I think you are stuck.

Is there anyone who could take the dog for a few days?

daenerysstormborn3

A dog box isn't the problem, I have a crate for Henry which is easy to transport, it's the fact that there is no train to put him on.

And given the fact that I'll be going down to my boyfriend quite often I don't think it would be fair to land someone with my dog. He's perfectly well behaved but he's huge, nobody has the space for him, the only person who does already has two labs and they are both bitches so it's not an option.

Hungerford

Victor wrote: »

Unless you find a suitable dog box, I think you are stuck.

It's an interesting one as the rules don't seem to have kept up with the times.

It's ambigious as to whether a dog box will do - I suspect you'll have to contact your local station and talk to them.

Hungerford

Hamndegger wrote: »

No guard compartment on the 22000, no. The Dublin-Cork Mark 4 and Dublin-Belfast Enterprise have a guards space but even then the carriage of animals is subject to conditions.

In fairness, they aren't that onerous - you have to make sure your dog is muzzled and secured properly so he/her doesn't bite any strangers.

daenerysstormborn3

a dog box won't do, I think it's very clear from their rules that that is the case. My dog's crate is 118cmx77x84 so there's no way it would fit anywhere but in a guard's cabin.

Talking to my local station is pointless because they have given me the same answer as the website, if you show up on any given day with the intention to travel we might/might not be able to accommodate you. It's really frustrating.

JimsAlterEgo

car hire is not expensive - would there much difference in a return train ticket and 2 nightis in kennels vs car hire for 2 days

daenerysstormborn3

I can't drive and in fairness if I could this wouldn't be an issue. My boyfriend can drive but I don't think hiring a car every time I go down makes good economical sense.

I think it's ridiculous that iarnrod can't provide a small area on a non peak time train (in fairness I'm not stupid enough to expect to be able to travel at peak times) to keep dogs/cats/whatever you're into.

daenerysstormborn3

JimsAlterEgo wrote: »

car hire is not expensive - would there much difference in a return train ticket and 2 nightis in kennels vs car hire for 2 days

I can't find any kennel that will take him. Every kennel I've contacted, I've contacted at least 10, have said he is too big for their kennels. The ones that will take him are as far away as kilkenny and sure then I'd still have the same problem of getting him there.

Kennels are infact really cheap here, about 20 quid a day, just apparently tiny

steph1

I would drive you as well I have a taxi and have carried pets on many occasions only problem is I am in Mayo.

Seriously though it would be cheaper to find a kennel and I cannot believe that kennels are not big enough to take him. They should be equipped to cater for large breeds such as him. Lovely dogs though

daenerysstormborn3

Well I know it would be cheaper to put him in kennels but as I said I have been refused because of his size. Have also been told that they don't take dogs under six months, dogs that have never been in kennels before (i know it's like bouncers saying regulars only!). I know kennels should be equipped for large breeds but apparently kennel owners don't. Kennels are so cheap, I thought they would be really expensive but they are really cheap. Not an option for me though. Very disappointed in irish rail that this is the extent of their service.

corktina

would they really not take a pup under 6 months? if you lied about his age, would he squeal on you do you think?

daenerysstormborn3

Well all kennels require up to date vet's cards and henry's has his dob on it and anyway even if it didn't they would have a fair idea by what vaccinations he's had what age he is.

parsi

pixiebean22 wrote: »

Well I know it would be cheaper to put him in kennels but as I said I have been refused because of his size. Have also been told that they don't take dogs under six months, dogs that have never been in kennels before (i know it's like bouncers saying regulars only!). I know kennels should be equipped for large breeds but apparently kennel owners don't. Kennels are so cheap, I thought they would be really expensive but they are really cheap. Not an option for me though. Very disappointed in irish rail that this is the extent of their service.

I'd be more disappointed at the kennels - after all they exist to mind dogs.

IE exist (nowadays) to carry people (though they do carry the odd two-legged animal).

daenerysstormborn3

Well at least the kennels give me a proper answer. Irish rail are just maybe/maybe not, i'd have no problem with a straight answer but this uncertainty is really frustrating.

corktina

pixiebean22 wrote: »

Well all kennels require up to date vet's cards and henry's has his dob on it and anyway even if it didn't they would have a fair idea by what vaccinations he's had what age he is.

sorry..only ...didnt know they had ID cards..ours dont and have been in kennels and not asked for any info on vaccinations etc.they have proper kennels in your part of world!

Hope you solve problem...IE is not your solution by the looks of it.

daenerysstormborn3

Well any animals being put in kennels have to be vaccinated against bordetella so that's why they won't let them in without up to date vet's cards. Personally, if kennels were letting dogs in without information on their vaccinations I wouldn't feel very confident putting my dog in there, not that I have the luxury of choice anyway

JimsAlterEgo

post on pets board or pets ireland -
http://petsireland.invisionzone.com/

Good chance someone there may be able to help. There are people that run kennels that actually are big dog lovers and will actually keep the dogs in their own homes if the dogs were nervous or upset so migth consider taking him also.

Judgement Day

parsi wrote: »

I'd be more disappointed at the kennels - after all they exist to mind dogs.

IE exist (nowadays) to carry people (though they do carry the odd two-legged animal).

IE exists today to provide employment for those unemployable in the private sector - the public/parcels/pets are regarded as a nuisance.

daenerysstormborn3

well considering irish rail say that do transport pets when really they don't.....

Run_to_da_hills

pixiebean22 wrote: »

well considering irish rail say that do transport pets when really they don't.....

Same goes for push bikes, all it takes is a grumpy station master or guard.

daenerysstormborn3

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

Same goes for push bikes, all it takes is a grumpy station master or guard.

I know, been in that situation too unfortunately

Well it's sorted now, thanks to all of you who offered helpful advice. Spoke to someone in Iarnrod Eireann today who told me that they take pets on all their intercity services and this apparently includes the Dublin-Waterford/Kilkenny routes so problem solved. Was told that if the dude checking the tickets refuses to let my dog on the train to contact the station master and that station masters cannot go against rules and it is stipulated in iarnrod eireann's rules that any train that can accept pets must accept pets and this includes all intercity trains. Handy information which they probably should put on their website

Thanks again.

Cookie_Monster

pixiebean22 wrote: »

I know, been in that situation too unfortunately

Well it's sorted now, thanks to all of you who offered helpful advice. Spoke to someone in Iarnrod Eireann today who told me that they take pets on all their intercity services and this apparently includes the Dublin-Waterford/Kilkenny routes so problem solved. Was told that if the dude checking the tickets refuses to let my dog on the train to contact the station master and that station masters cannot go against rules and it is stipulated in iarnrod eireann's rules that any train that can accept pets must accept pets and this includes all intercity trains. Handy information which they probably should put on their website

Thanks again.

I'm sure he can quote some H&S rubbish that will allow him to over rule thos rules and go on strike for being asked such a question