Following Obama's Train of Thought

It'd be great to get everyone on board

He has travelled to Washington by train. He chose to do so, primarily, because Abraham Lincoln had also come by train, along the same route from Philadelphia, in 1861. But in addition, Mr Obama, unlike President Bush, has always supported and championed the railroad.

Whereas President Bush constantly tried to reduce, or even scrap, the federal subsidy to the American train company, Amtrak, Barack Obama has voted to support state reinvestment in the railway system. Chicago and its commuter territory in Illinois -- Mr Obama's electoral base and adopted hometown -- is a hub for train services which have recently undergone a revival in the mid-west. [...]

For the world's train enthusiasts -- and for environmental campaigners -- the Obama Express was a brilliant example of gesture politics.

Politicians all around the world should be seen more often using the train. [...]

...last year saw the beginnings of a train renaissance in the US.

California was said to be spearheading a rail revival with "soaring passenger numbers", and Amtrak reported that overall ridership rose by 12.3pc from the previous year, while ticket sales rose 15.6pc.

In 2007, Amtrak carried 26 million passengers: in 2008, that increased to over 28 million.

This was despite the Bush White House threatening to veto legislation to fund Amtrak.

Several trends are stimulating the return of the train: the volatility of petrol prices, the vexation of traffic congestion on the roads, the stress of air travel with ever-increasing security measures, and the "green agenda": a short air flight produces more than three times C02 per passenger than rail travel.

And now comes Obama's practical and romantic insistence on a symbolic train journey.

Let's see him more frequently alighting from the Iron Horse when going about the business of government.

(my emphasis)

Barack Obama: The Train President.

It's about time we had such a leader.