What is dog box?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
A dog box is the compartment in a train's brake van, where a dog travels as luggage when its owner does not hold a whole First AC or First Class coupe or cabin. It is booked at the station's luggage office at least 3 hours before departure and charged at the Scale L rate on a fixed 30 kg.
Also called dog box in train, brake van dog box, guard's van dog box, SLR dog box.
Key facts
- A dog that cannot ride with you travels in the dog box of the brake van, charged on a fixed 30 kg. Indian Railways
- The dog box is booked at the luggage or parcel office at least 3 hours before the train leaves. Southern Railway
- Southern Railway asks for a vet's fitness certificate obtained 24 to 48 hours before the journey, shown with the vaccination card when booking. Southern Railway
- In the brake van the dog travels chained and in a mouth guard, one dog to a box, under the supervision of the guard. Southern Railway
- No list of trains with a dog box is published; Southern Railway places it in the luggage-cum-brake van of conventional ICF coaches. Southern Railway
When does a dog travel in the dog box?
Whenever it cannot ride with you, which depends on your class and on what the chart gives your PNR.
If you hold First AC or First Class and the chart gives your PNR the whole coupe or cabin
Your dog rides with you; book it online between the first and final chart. By train IRCTC
If you hold First AC or First Class but share the cabin with another PNR
The online booking refuses the pet; a dog can still go in the dog box. IRCTC
If your ticket is in 2AC, 3AC, AC chair car, sleeper or second class
The dog goes in the dog box, booked at the luggage office at least 3 hours before departure. Southern Railway
If your dog is too big for the dog box
It travels in a special vehicle, at the rates and conditions set for horses. Indian Railways
What happens at the station on a dog-box journey?
Southern Railway's procedure, step by step.
The vet
24 to 48 hours before the journey, a certificate that the dog has no infectious or contagious disease. Southern Railway
The luggage office
At least 3 hours before departure: the dog, your confirmed ticket, ID, the certificate and the vaccination card. Keep the receipt. Southern Railway
The brake van
The dog is chained, in a mouth guard, one to a box. Hand the guard's part of the receipt to the guard. Southern Railway
At stops
Petym's suggestion: if the train halts long enough, go to the brake van to check on your dog and offer water, with the guard's agreement.
What should you carry for a dog in the dog box?
The papers and kit Indian Railways asks for, plus what keeps your dog comfortable.
- A vet's fitness certificate from 24 to 48 hours before the journey. Southern Railway
- The vaccination card. Southern Railway
- A collar and chain. Indian Railways
- A mouth guard (muzzle) for the brake van. Southern Railway
- Your confirmed ticket and ID, and the luggage receipt. Southern Railway
- Water, a bowl and the dog's food for the journey; in summer avoid the hottest part of the day if you can choose your train.
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Questions owners ask
How much does the dog box cost on Indian Railways?
- A dog in the dog box is charged at the Scale L luggage rate on a fixed weight of 30 kg, whatever the dog actually weighs. Indian Railways publishes no simple rupee table; the minimum charge is Rs 10 in its luggage rules and Rs 30 on South Eastern Railway's page.
Can I book the dog box online on IRCTC?
- No. Online pet booking on IRCTC is for a dog or cat travelling with you in a First AC or First Class coupe or cabin held on your PNR. A dog-box booking is made at the station's luggage or parcel office, at least 3 hours before the train leaves.
Does every train have a dog box?
- No list of trains with one is published. Southern Railway's notice places the dog box in the luggage-cum-brake van of conventional ICF coaches, so ask the luggage office at your boarding station before you plan the journey.
Can a cat travel in the dog box?
- Petym found no official rule for a grown cat in the brake van. A cat can travel with you in a First AC or First Class coupe booked online, and a kitten small enough for a basket may travel in any class. Ask the parcel office at your station.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in travel and paperwork
- Advance NOCThe Advance NOC (No Objection Certificate) is the clearance a passenger must hold before a pet dog or cat can board a flight to India. You apply on CBIC's ATITHI 2.0 portal at least 7 days before travel, and AQCS issues it within 1 working day of checking your documents. Airlines will not board the pet without it.
- AQCSAQCS, Animal Quarantine and Certification Services, is the Government of India service under the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying that examines pets and issues the health certificate a pet needs to leave India, and clears pets arriving. It has six stations: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Its fees are paid online through Bharatkosh.
- Export health certificateThe export health certificate, formally the Certificate of Health for Export (Pet Animals), is the document AQCS issues after examining a pet in person, without which a pet cannot leave India. AQCS calls it "the NOC". It costs Rs 500, paid online through Bharatkosh, is normally issued the same day and is valid for 10 days.
- Fit-to-fly certificateA fit-to-fly certificate is a registered vet's signed and stamped statement that a pet has been examined and is healthy enough to fly. Every Indian airline that carries pets asks for one, with the rabies vaccination record. How recent it must be differs: within 7 days on Air India, 15 days on Akasa Air, 48 hours on SpiceJet.
- Health certificateA pet health certificate is a vet's signed and stamped statement that your pet has been examined and is healthy, usually free of infectious disease and fit to travel. In India, Indian Railways, airlines and AQCS ask for one. The catch is timing: each wants a certificate issued within its own window, from 24 hours to 10 days.
- IATA pet crateAn IATA pet crate is a travel kennel built to the International Air Transport Association's Live Animals Regulations, Container Requirement 1, for pets flying in the hold. It must let the pet stand, turn and lie naturally, and be rigid, ventilated on all four sides, bolted together, with a water bowl filled from outside and the right labels.
- Pet passportIndia does not issue a pet passport; the EU pet passport is issued only by authorised vets to owners living in the EU. When people in India say pet passport, they usually mean the travel papers: microchip and vaccination records, a vet's health certificate, the AQCS export certificate, and the destination's own certificate or permit.
- Scale LScale L is Indian Railways' luggage rate: its Scale P parcel rate plus 80%. A dog on a train is charged at Scale L on a fixed weight, whatever it weighs: 30 kg in the brake-van dog box, 60 kg if it rides with you in a First AC or First Class coupe or cabin. Distance does the rest.
- Transfer of residenceTransfer of residence is the customs category for a passenger moving to India after living abroad for two years or more. Under it, the passenger may bring up to two pet dogs or cats as baggage, with an Advance NOC from the ATITHI 2.0 portal. Anyone abroad for less than two years needs a different route, usually a DGFT licence.
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- Indian Railways: Rules for luggage, including rules and rates for the conveyance of dogs (undated) (opens in a new tab)
- Southern Railway: Rules for carrying pet dogs in trains and procedure for booking (press release 426/2022-23, 2 November 2022) (opens in a new tab)
- IRCTC: Online ticket booking of dogs and cats: general terms and conditions, and user guide (opens in a new tab)
- South Eastern Railway: How to carry pet dogs (opens in a new tab)
- Indian Railways parcel website (CRIS): Online ticket booking of dogs and cats: terms and user guide (August 2026 revision) (opens in a new tab)