large baggage on Amtrak Regional
 

Hi,
This is my first time on an Amtrak train. My wife and I would be travelling from Wilmington, Delaware to BWI (Baltimore) airport on an Amtrak Regional and again from Union Station Washington DC to Wilmington, Delaware. Both are regional trains. We have one large bag with about 32" tall. We can carry-on 2 handbag for each of us with max size 28". Would I be able to carry the big bag? Can the conductor deny carrying the big bag on board.

I have traveled many times on various regionals and have never had a problem with bringing my large suitcase. Most single-level regional cars don't have dedicated baggage racks but they do have spaces between bulkheads and seats and, since most regional traffic is local, I have never had a problem finding space for my suitcase there.

You will be able to bring it onboard. There is room in the front of the car for large bags if you cannot fit it above your seat in the luggage rack.

There is no way a 32" bag would fit on the overhead - and I'm not sure about a 28". I've only done weekend sacks or 22" carry-ons - and those fit fine.

A huge bag is likely to fall down and brain someone. Definitely needs to go at the end of the car.

Those luggage racks above the seats on regionals are fairly WIDE and even though one of that larger bag's dimensions is 32" that doesn't mean it won't fit and in fact it probably WILL fit if you lie the 32" edge on its side. Regardless, the AMTRAK people don't really CARE how big your bags are if you can carry them on. Some people actually leave them on the floor in front of seats when the trains aren't full.

Amtrak staff is much more concerned with the weight of your bag instead of the size. If your bag weighs more than 40 lb. please leave it on the floor instead of trying to put it overhead.
The limit is 50 lb. for any one bag. My first trip on Amtrak was from WAS to NYP in Oct. 2001 with one bag in the 40-45 lb. range. I was traveling on a 30 day Rail Pass.

There's usually no problem with larger bags. We take a couple that are several inches over the limits when we go long distances and never had a problem. We did see and issue in Atlanta once...not with us but some other couple had bags that were over the 50 pound limit. The baggage guy made them buy a shipping box and move stuff into it to get below 50 lbs...but this was checked baggage not carry on.


You won't have a problem