In the first eight months of 2007, one in four commercial airline flights was delayed. In August alone, passengers on 159 flights sat on the tarmac for three hours or more waiting for takeoff.

It's a problem we can't spend our way out of. Congress spent $40 billion on highways in 2006, and $14 billion on airports and airlines, with no visible effect. New freeways and runways are self-fulfilling prophecies. They clog quickly, and the delays and snarls just get worse.

The reliance on airplanes and automobiles grates on our nerves, spoils our environment, drains our wallets. There's got to be a better way. And there is. Energy-efficient passenger and freight trains reduce gridlock on highways and taxiways, combat global warming, reduce reliance on foreign oil, help soothe jangled nerves.

But while other nations - France, Germany, Japan, The United Kingdom, China - have been heavily subsidizing high-speed inter-city rail service as an alternative to more lanes and planes, our country has been busy turning rails into foot trails.

The U.S. government spent just $1.3 billion last year on Amtrak, the same amount as in 1971, the year the national passenger rail network was born, cobbled out of the remnants of a once-proud industry. But equipment is aging, routes have disappeared, and short-sighted Bush administration officials, who proposed just $800 million for Amtrak in fiscal 2008, would kill it if they could. But they can't.

Amtrak, which serves 500 destinations in 46 states, is experiencing a comeback, especially as an alternative to short-haul air travel in the Northeast corridors. Last year, a record 24.3 million passengers rode the rails. People are tired of sitting in traffic and sitting on runways. Where the option exists, they're taking the train. And Congress appears poised to help them aboard.

Last week the Senate approved legislation - the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 - to bring our passenger rail system into the 21st century. The bill, which was sent to the House, would provide $11.4 billion for infrastructure improvements and expansion of rail routes to serve more cities over the next six years. That includes nearly $1.4 billion in grants to help states alleviate traffic congestion by establishing passenger rail service between cities.

We need reliable passenger rail service, and we need it fast. Congress should approve the bill.