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Amtrak

The worst thing about air travel is coming to trains

By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
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By
Benjamin Snyder
Benjamin Snyder
Managing Editor
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 29, 2015, 11:44 AM ET
NA/AMTRAK BIDEN LOCATION: WASHINGTON, DC DATE: 07/28/05 NEG:  CA
NA/AMTRAK BIDEN LOCATION: WASHINGTON, DC DATE: 07/28/05 NEG: CAPTION: On his arrival to Washington D.C., Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) disembarks the train from Wilmington during his commute north Ñ Sen. Biden commutes from his home in Wilmington, Delaware via Amtrak onto Washington D.C. and to work on Capitol Hill Thursday July 28, 2005. StaffPhoto imported to Merlin on Tue Aug 16 19:05:04 2005Photograph by The Washington Post/Getty Images

If you swear by traveling Amtrak, you better be careful with your luggage. The train will begin charging for extra baggage or bags that measure over the limits starting Oct. 1.

Customers will be charged a $20 excess baggage feet for every carry-on and personal item above the two-item and two carry-on limit. “A maximum of two excess bags are permitted per passenger. Fees will be collected at the station or onboard the train if the station is unstaffed,” according to the Amtrak website.

For carry-on bags, the weight limit is 50 lbs. and 28″ x 22″ x 11″ and for personal items, the weight limit is 25 lbs. and 14″ x 11″ x 17,” according to Amtrak.

The crews were in a difficult position because they couldn’t give anyone an option,” said Marc Magliari, an Amtrak spokesman, to Slate. “They had to decide, well, do we allow people to continue to ride?”

“It’s important that we preserve the space aboard the trains, because the trains are pretty busy,” Magliari added. “And it’s a safety issue for our crews having to lift more than 50 pounds.”

Here’s an article to learn more about Amtrak’s weight limit. Meanwhile, Fortune examined whether or not Amtrak should be privatized earlier this year.

About the Author
By Benjamin SnyderManaging Editor
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Benjamin Snyder is Fortune's managing editor, leading operations for the newsroom.

Prior to rejoining Fortune, he was a managing editor at Business Insider and has worked as an editor for Bloomberg, LinkedIn and CNBC, covering leadership stories, sports business, careers and business news. He started his career as a breaking news reporter at Fortune in 2014.

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