National railway operator, Trenitalia, has announced a new policy placing a six kilogram weight limit on dogs travelling aboard trains and requiring smaller dogs to be transported inside closed carriers. Seeing-eye dogs will remain exempt from the limit.

The new measures, which come into force on 1 October, follow a number of episodes over the past year in which passengers discovered train carriages to be infested with fleas and ticks.

Up until now, Trenitalia has required dogs to wear leashes and muzzles while aboard trains and have a veterinarian