The “Pets on Trains” program began in 2014 as a test on two Chicago-Quincy. Ill., round-trips, expanded to the Chicago-Carbondale, Ill., Saluki and Illini later that year, and then to Northeast Regional trains in October 2015. Beginning Feb. 16, they will also be allowed on Amtrak shuttles between New Haven, Conn., and Springfield, Mass. The fee to take a pet on board remains at $25 per segment. Reservations must be made in advance by calling 800-USA-RAIL or in person at a staffed station; only five pets can be carried on each train.
Although the Illinois corridor trains continue to require trips with pets to begin and tickets to be purchased at staffed stations when the offices are open, those restrictions have been relaxed for the Northeast Corridor and the just-announced long-distance expansions. At unstaffed stations, the conductor confirms pet eligibility (at least 8 weeks old, “odorless and harmless,” weighs under 20 pounds), and provides passengers with a release and indemnification agreement to sign.
All other state-supported trains are excluded (except the Carolinian south of Washington, D.C., and the Vermonter south of Springfield, Mass). The seven-hour limit also means that most overnight trips or longer journeys are limited. For instance, a traveler headed south from Washington could be ticketed only as far as Dillon, S.C., on the daytime Palmetto; Cary, N.C., on the Silver Star; Florence, S.C. on the Silver Meteor; Charlotte, N.C., on the Crescent; and Alderson, W.Va., on the Cardinal.
The pros and cons of opening up Auto Train to dog and cat carriage have been studied at various times since Amtrak resurrected the Lorton, Va., to Sanford, Fla., service in 1983 and would certainly tap a currently-unavailable segment of families who need or want to travel with their pets. Doing so, though, would likely mean equipping and staffing a special baggage car or allowing passengers out on the platform for Auto Train’s nocturnal Florence servicing stop.
And despite the roll-out of heated Viewliner II baggage cars, there are still no immediate plans to allow dogs and cats as checked baggage, as airlines and many VIA Rail Canada trains do.
UPDATED: Full story with details. Feb. 3, 2016, 3:54 p.m. Central time.
If Denham thinks the program is a success, then there's got to be something terribly wrong with it. He's the biggest enemy of passenger rail in Congress, even worse than Mica.