Creta is a Labrador retriever, he is three years old, weighs almost 35 kilos
and it is the first time he has traveled by AVE.
He is, in fact, the first dog weighing more than 10 kilos to travel by long-distance train.
Until now they couldn't because of his weight, but today Renfe is launching a pilot project so that large dogs can travel.
A pioneering experience that we decided to try.
The dog
is at the limit to be able to do it, which is 40 kilos
.
Renfe will test the experiment until December and the idea is that, if this pilot project works, it can be extended to other routes.
At the moment there are only three daily frequencies on the AVE Madrid-Barcelona (three going and three returning).
Creta arrives at the Atocha station, in Madrid, to
start his trip to Barcelona
.
Animal and owner come with their homework done: with the vaccinations in order, the documentation and a signed declaration of responsibility.
The dog arrives walking and with her needs made of her, to avoid problems inside the car, since it is a two and a half hour journey.
canine kit
We meet half an hour before the train leaves so that the station staff
can give us our canine kit
: a pad and a seat cover.
There are only two places for dogs on each train.
They are inside the same car, to avoid inconvenience to the rest of the passengers, and the place for the dog is at the beginning of it.
"It's something we were working on. At Renfe we try to adapt to the needs of our customers and we saw that
this was a growing demand
", explains Santiago Fernández Varea, Director of Customer Experience at Renfe and one of the people who has been working in this initiative.
On the train
It is perceived that the personnel in charge of attending this new service have experience in treating animals.
Boarding is done normally
: the belongings are passed through the security tape, the documentation is shown at the entrance and the animal goes down the mechanical ramp to the track.
The car assigned to us is full of people: most of them work, others sleep... and Crete becomes the star.
She doesn't seem to bother because the passing passengers greet her, caress her and take pictures of her...
"I didn't even know there was a dog in front of her"
, comments a traveler.
She is working and thinks that this service is a good idea.
"People passing by are more bothersome than the animal," she explains.
The dog must be tied, next to her seat and with a muzzle and under the supervision of her owner.
She cannot walk through the aisles or change the car
, in which a person (aside from the controller) with experience in handling animals travels in case a problem arises.
Most of the Crete trip is lying on the mat that they have given us, with water.
She only barks when the cart with the drinks passes.
At the end of the trip, another passenger who has a pet gives her a prize "because she hasn't barked at all and has been very good," she says.
The most problematic point is the descent of the train
.
There were also problems getting her up, but on the platform of the Barcelona-Sans station the space between the car and the platform is too big and the dog gets scared.
She is afraid of the step and she doesn't want to go down.
Landing
We request
the Atendo service
to assist us with the ramp for wheelchairs.
This service, explains the person who accompanies us, "we give it to users who need it, but it is not for pets," she specifies.
We are clear that we will request the service again to embark and disembark on the return home.
Price
The ticket price for Crete is 35 euros, to which must be added that of the passenger
, which varies depending on the route, the day, the time, the influx... Dogs weighing less than 10 kilos pay 10 euros.
"It is more expensive because you occupy one seat and the dog another, it is not like when you carry a carrier, which does not occupy a seat," explains Fernández Varea, who says that "variable rates are being studied depending on the journey, because there are some more short, others longer...
Facilitating rail transport for larger pets was a growing demand, especially considering that in Spain there are already more families with pets than with small children.
This project will be from September 15 to December 15.
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Articles Raquel Villaecija