But the project has been delayed for years by legislators reluctant to approve expensive public works projects unless they are for highways. "When the definitive history of California boondoggles is written, this one will loom above all others," said Tom McClintock, a Republican state legislator from Los Angeles, during floor debate on the proposed rail line in 2002. A $10 billion bond to start the project was scheduled to be issued in 2004, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delayed it, worrying that it would conflict with another bond for highways. Now the governor says that he supports the project, and it's scheduled to be on the ballot this November. If the measure passes, the leg between San Francisco and Los Angeles—the first phase—could be carrying riders by 2019.

President Bush is no fan of Amtrak (neither is John McCain, one of the railroad's staunchest Senate opponents). He has tried to whittle away at its subsidy, proposing a budget of just $900 million, down from the current $1.3 billion. But Congress has ignored the administration's number and, by a veto-proof margin in June, passed legislation to give Amtrak $2 billion to $3 billion a year for the next five to six years—a hefty increase intended to enable the railroad to undertake an upgrade of tracks and equipment.

The solution to America's rail problem, according to Joe Vranich, the former head of the High Speed Rail Association and a leading critic of Amtrak, is to jettison long-haul trains, which receive the majority of government funding, and concentrate on routes of 300 miles or less. "Close 'em down," Vranich says of the long-haul trains. The government gives airlines about $6 for every 1,000 passenger miles, while Amtrak gets nearly $200. The idea that all modes of transportation receive similar subsidies is "an argument that is flawed from the beginning," he says.

Kummant defends keeping the long-distance train routes, calling them a treasure akin to the national parks and saying that he has vowed to preserve them. "Once they're gone, they'll be tough to get back," he says.

Amtrak's subsidies, which have come under fire from lawmakers, are simply a reality for public transportation, Kummant says. "The FAA gets $2.7 billion; the Federal Highway Administration, $10 billion. There is no model [for a railroad] anywhere in the world that can operate without government support," he says.

While there's little chance long-distance trains will ever present any real threat to the airlines, some do dream big. "We need a national initiative like the Interstate Highway System," says Sam Gurol, program manager of the magnetic levitation train program at General Atomics, a technology firm. "At an average speed of two hundred fifty miles per hour, it wouldn't take long to cross the country. You could go from Los Angeles to Chicago in ten hours."

For the time being, though, the reality of rail travel is much more modest. Amtrak can't be a true high-speed rail system—traveling at speeds of 200 miles per hour and up—on its current track. But Kummant says that new signaling equipment would make it possible to increase average train speeds to 100 or 110 miles per hour—the high end of what the existing tracks can bear. To do that, however, states would have to fund the installation of signaling equipment in congested areas, something few lawmakers are willing to do. Apart from funding, Amtrak's other major challenge is that its trains run at the mercy of the freight railroads, which own virtually all of the 21,000 miles of track it uses. Consequently, Amtrak can't increase the frequency of its trains in busy areas, where freight traffic has grown to near capacity.

The storm clouds of crowded skies and rising fuel prices may have a silver lining for rail travel. "The traveling public is making its desire known," says Ross Capon, executive director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers, a 23,000-member organization that lobbies for rail service. "This country cannot exist exclusively on the fly-drive system. People want another option."