'Obama Express' chugs on to Washington

Retracing the route once taken by his idol Abraham Lincoln, president-elect Barack Obama on Sunday rode a special inaugural train to the US capital, asking Americans to commit to a "new declaration of independence" from "bigotry and prejudice" in a time of "vast" challenges.

The symbolic train trip from Philadelphia, the cradle of US independence, to Washington drew huge cheering crowds who braved freezing weather and gathered along the railway tracks, some with tears in their eyes. A tight security cordon was laid all along the route and flight restrictions imposed.

In a nation beset with financial turmoil and 2.6 million job losses, the January 20 inauguration has given a chance for hope and the emotions Obama were drawing were clear from the vivacious welcome he got throughout the 220-km journey on the route Lincoln took on his way to becoming president in 1861.

Referring to the "vast" challenges ahead during a town hall meeting in Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, Obama maintained that there would be "false starts" and "setbacks" while resolving the problems, even as he promised to act with "fierce urgency".    

Borrowing words from Lincoln's inaugural address in 1861, Obama made an appeal to Americans' "better angels." "What is required is a new declaration of independence, not just in our nation but in our own lives -- from ideology and small thinking, prejudice and bigotry -- an appeal not to our easy instincts but to our 'better angels,' " the first black-American president of the US said.

Speaking in Baltimore, Obama recalled the sacrifices made by the "first patriots" during the American independence war. "They were willing to put all they were and all they had on the line...their lives, their fortune, and sacred honour for a set of ideals that continue to light the world: that we are all equal."

"The American Revolution was, and remains, an ongoing struggle in the minds and hearts of the people," he said and urged the people to "take up in our own lives the work of perfecting our union."

Along the way, the train stopped in Wilmington, Delaware, to pick up vice president-elect Joe Biden and his family.

Security for the ride was unprecedented. Law enforcement officers from 40 jurisdictions provided protection from the ground while the US Coast Guard was stationed on waterways along the route, CNN reported.

The Federal Aviation Administration established "moving" flight restrictions that prevented private pilots, news helicopters, balloonists and others from getting anywhere near the train, it said.

The FAA is imposing additional airspace restrictions in Washington during pre-inaugural activities and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday, the day of the inauguration.    

Nearly two million people are expected to hit the streets of Washington on Tuesday. Police will shut bridges across the Potomac River into the city, along with a huge chunk of the downtown.