I don't drive so I do a great deal of travel by train (and bus) including a regular 200 mile round trip to visit my elderly mother about 6 times a year.

Modern trains do not have guard's vans (well rarely if ever, I've never seen one!). What many modern trains do have is a separate area between the carriages for bicycles, pushchairs and wheelchairs with fold down seats.

Not as warm as the main carriage, but much more private with a bit more room for doggy to stretch out. I am always aware that people in main carriages might be phobic or allergic. On the occasions I have had to travel in the carriage I've found it very stuffy, and crowded, but luckily Merlin is happy to sleep under the table (warn anyone sitting opposite there's a dog under there!).

The only problem I've ever had in 4 years was on a small 2-carriage train with no separate part for bikes etc. A man and his wife brought 2 very unruly Min Schnauzers on board with extending leads.... not on brake... then accidentally dropped a bag of dog treats on the floor dogs all snaffling them up running riot along the aisle. Owners were more interested in putting their luggage up onto the rack and didn't care that the dogs were doing (heaven help anyone in the carriage who was dog phobic).

My requests to move further down the carriage and/or keep the dogs under control didn't work, they just didn't hear me, I seriously thought there was going to be a dog fight as mine isn't very tolerant of other dogs, and they hadn't even noticed there was a large, grumbling, hackle-raised Shepherd-cross only a few feet away as they ran back & forth under his nose gobbling up the spilled treats!