Another unfunded mandate for Amtrak and having to pick up the poop as well.
What’s wrong with putting pets in a baggage car car? Oh yeah, those cars are due to be eliminated.
Amtrak doesn’t carry pets because they don’t have the money to add heat and air conditioning to the baggage cars. Will this bill also provide the funds for this mandate? Maybe Amtrak would perform better financially if the politicians would stop micromanaging it. This applies to food service as well.
Pets on Amtrak trains are the last thing we need. The smell, the noise, the problems of excrament and urine, the alergies. Doesn’t Congress have better thing to do than putting pets on trains? How about coming up with a balanced budget, instead of trying to grant the wishes of all these “special interest groups”?
Mr. Calisi, no baggage cars are not due to be eliminated. They just ordered new ones. However, the problem with allowing passengers in the baggage car to tend to the pet is that the baggage car has to be kept secure because that’s where the gun locker is. Yes, the gun locker is locked, but I believe they are required to keep the car locked as well.
Maybe they can compromise and only allow pets if no one is bringing a gun.
I forgot to add to my previous comment…
If they allow dogs in the passenger cars, they will lose me as a rider. I am highly allergic to dog hair (dander, whatever) and my constant coughing, sneezing, and occasional retching would soon make me far more of an annoyance to other passengers than the dog’s barking. Medications are only partially effective, not nearly enough. If I got a sleeping room that had been occupied by a dog within the last month, that would probably set me off too.
I’m a pet person but putting pets on trains. Rep. Denham says I can put my pet on a plane, why not a train? Um…because it takes significantly longer. Where are you going to walk your dog/cat? Next, they’ll want Amtrak to provide veterinary and babysitting services for pets.
Since Amtrak now accepts firearms albeit under lock & key on the baggage car, I think allowing pets is a good idea. However, I think if pets are allowed to travel on trains it should be done so for a fee like $10 or $25, and the pets should only be transported in their carriers in the baggage car of a train so it doesn’t disturb passengers. With that being said, there are several operational aspects to consider.
I assume that the legislation will provide the necessary funds to convert cars. If not, then I suggest the legislators find something else to occupy their time. Apparently, they have plenty of it.
We took the cat along in the bedroom on the Pullman and shipped the dog in the baggage car on our summer and winter trips between New Orleans and Portland, Maine without incident. We did have to get the dog from the baggage room at South Station and recheck both the cat and the dog at North Station in Boston after the B&M went all coach on their day trains. An old friend of my dads who was a Maine Central conductor told me they never lost a pet that he knew of.
The news story doesn’t say in what car the legislation would allow the dogs to travel in - is it just the baggage car (thus only certain Amtrak trains) or is it in the passenger cars?
Pets should not be allowed on the passenger cars. On a recent trip in NC a lady had hidden her little dog and carried it on the train. During the ride the dog barked and pooped making the people around her very uncomfortable (know not all animals bark but they all poop). Many dogs may not be as well behaved as appartently Rep. Denham’s dog. Also, if the pet is large enough it will require a seat.
A little HISTORY to learn from: from its opening, the WALDORF ASTORIA NYC and other posh hotels in the USA and Europe allowed certain breeds of dogs in the rooms: quiet, well behaved breeds, such as English, Boston, & French Bulldogs,… Great Danes, Boxers, and others. What this means is that only on CERTAIN trains, in certain accomodation cars, would this be functional and permissable… for a higher ticket fee, too. Agreed, though that on trips over a day, bodily “functions” would be a problem which never occured when all trains stopped for water and crew changes regularly. Pets were in a baggae car, and were accessible at those water stops for “walks”. Millionaires in their 1890’s Private Varnish regularly road with their pets, and 1950’s movie stars took their pets in the Pullman roomettes with them (Zaza Gabor’s Chihuahua, Liz Taylor’s poodle, Billy Holliday’s Boston Terrier, to name a few). SOMETHING can be worked out again, if people are willing, and if political correctness does not destroy the will of the people as usual
A little HISTORY to learn from: from its opening, the WALDORF ASTORIA NYC and other posh hotels in the USA and Europe allowed certain breeds of dogs in the rooms: quiet, well behaved breeds, such as English, Boston, & French Bulldogs,… Great Danes, Boxers, and others. What this means is that only on CERTAIN trains, in certain accomodation cars, would this be functional and permissable… for a higher ticket fee, too. Agreed, though that on trips over a day, bodily “functions” would be a problem which never occured when all trains stopped for water and crew changes regularly. Pets were in a baggae car, and were accessible at those water stops for “walks”. Millionaires in their 1890’s Private Varnish regularly road with their pets, and 1950’s movie stars took their pets in the Pullman roomettes with them (Zaza Gabor’s Chihuahua, Liz Taylor’s poodle, Billy Holliday’s Boston Terrier, to name a few). SOMETHING can be worked out again, if people are willing, and if political correctness does not destroy the will of the people as usual
They should be allowed in pet carriers and only in the baggage car. No baggage car, no pets on that train. Amtrak should charge a hefty fee to cover the expense of a crew member occasionally checking on their well being. No visits should be allowed by the owner while in route or at station stops, which could potentially delay the train. Amtrak should also require a liability release from the pet owner. Pets should never be allowed in the passenger cars under any circumstances.
Besides the occasional noise and odors associated with pets, some passengers are allergic to dogs and cats. Perhaps Amtrak should consider special fares so people who want to travel with their pets can join them in the baggage car! And Rep. Denham, stop being such a moron. Can’t you find anything else besides rail passenger travel for the government to ruin?
If they mean the baggage car or separate pet facility (like one of the lower sections of a superliner) fine. But I absolutely do not want them in the regular passenger section! No matter how well their owners say they are behaved, most of them are not going to sit quietly by their owners for a long train trip. They may be part of your family, but not mine! There are enough distractions on a train (poorly behaved kids, cellphones, etc.) without pets - mainly dogs - running around. I doubt that I would ride long distance trains very much with dogs in the cars. A train ride can be a wonderful relaxing experience - for the people. Lets keep it that way.
perhaps Congressman Denham is using this aa a way to drive a wedge in passenger rail suppoerters. He’s only head of the committe on Transportation to make sure the keystone Pipeline gets built, he knows nothing about transportation issues.