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Dog lovers travel in style on the ‘pet party’ express

Pet owners travel with their pets on the first group train trip for tourists and their dogs following the launch of a three-month trial period. The group traveled in a charter “pet party” train car. PHOTO: CNA

A group of dog lovers and their pets boarded a train for Hualien yesterday on the country’s first train travel package allowing pet owners to tote their furry friends.

The group traveled on an express train from Taipei yesterday in a charter “pet party” carriage for dogs and their owners.

The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) launched a three-month trial period on July 1 to allow passengers to bring pets on the trains.

Liu Chu-mei (劉淑美), assistant manager at the Taipei-based travel agency that organized the tour, said the “very important dogs” traveling with the group would not only accompany their owners on the train, but also stay in their owners’ hotel rooms and eat at the same restaurants.

Liu, also a dog lover, said she first contacted the administration about 18 months ago about the possibility of designating train cars for pets to allow passengers to travel with them in a relaxed atmosphere.

To avoid disturbing other passengers, the tour group took a morning train and boarded on the remote fourth platform.

But the 19 dogs attracted the attention of other travelers as they passed through the train station lobby.

Station director Lee Yung-sheng (李永生) said he had received some complaints in response to the decision to let animals on trains.

While pet lovers applauded the policy, some passengers were not happy about the change. One person has filed a lawsuit in an administrative court, arguing that the rights of passengers were being ignored.

Those with health concerns in particular should not be “forced to sit together with pets,” the complainant said.

TRA Deputy Director-General Chang Ying-huei (張應輝) said the company would take public opinion into account.

Chang said the administration had conducted two separate public surveys on the policy before launching the trial run.

In a poll conducted in 2003, 70 percent of respondents said they did not want pets on the train, while 14 percent approved of the proposal.

Earlier this year, the TRA conducted another survey, which showed that the percentage of those who disapproved of the plan had dropped to 55 percent, while those who approved rose to 24 percent.

The TRA said an increasing number of people want to travel with their pets, which was a reason to offer the trial period.

It said, however, that each pet must be kept in a carrier measuring no larger than 40cm by 30cm by 26cm that can be stowed under a seat during the trip and that will not leak urine.

The group traveling in the charter “pet party” carriage yesterday, however, did not have to keep their dogs confined. Animals could sit with their owners and were fed a custom-made breakfast. The train car was decorated with colorful balloons and pictures of dogs and people.

The special pet car is equipped with a separate ventilation system to allow for independent air circulation, a TRA official said, adding that the TRA had also hired a cleaning service to disinfect the carriage after the tour.

Lee En-huei (李恩蕙), the owner of a 14-year-old mini doberman, said she joined the tour group because it was quicker to travel to Hualien by train than by car and she wanted to take her dog.
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