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Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Here’s a warning for Amtrak riders: Pack light or be ready to pay for excess luggage starting on Thursday.

That’s when Amtrak will limit bags that can be brought on board free to two personal items weighing less than 25 pounds (11 kilograms) each and two pieces of luggage no more than 50 pounds apiece. Extra pieces -- or heavier ones -- will carry a $20 fee per item.

“We are doing this to manage space” aboard trains, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said in an telephone interview. “Our trains are really busy and we need to make sure there’s room for everybody’s carry-ons."

Any traveler who has flown in recent years is familiar with baggage fees, which generated $1.83 billion in revenue for U.S. airlines in the first six months of this year. But Amtrak doesn’t expect a cash windfall, predicting very few of its 31 million annual passengers will be affected, Magliari said.

“We are not doing this as a revenue stream,” he said. The money generated will be “not that much,” Magliari said, without giving a specific estimate. Travelers can avoid the fee by checking the excess baggage on lines where that service is available.

Some customers said Amtrak is tackling a problem that doesn’t exist.

There’s always space for bags, said Tami Murphy at New York’s Pennsylvania Station Tuesday. The marketing manager was waiting to board for a trip to Massachusetts.

“I take the train just a couple of times a year and I always have luggage,” she said. “I’ve never had an issue.”