Across the world, from the United Kingdom to Japan, travelers are whisked to their destinations on trains that carry them with efficiency and in some degree of comfort, depending on which class of travel is chosen.

But in this country, getting up to speed on train travel is more difficult than sending explorers to Mars.

Instead of looking to boost rail transit, lawmakers seem intent on slowly squeezing the life out of it. This month the House Appropriations Committee signed off on a devastating cut of almost a third in Amtrak's federal funding, from $1.3 billion to $900 million, as part of a transportation bill.

Amtrak also would be required to cut spending on food and drink service and first-class services -- which ought to be made more readily available to make train travel more comfortable and attractive to new passengers.

Amtrak has its problems. Passengers know that arrival and departure times can be erratic. Tales of inconvenience and delay are an almost insurmountable image problem for Amtrak. Most Americans, who remain wedded to their cars despite $3-a-gallon gasoline, still won't let the train take the strain.

President Bush should be taking the lead in promoting travel that is environmentally friendly and energy-saving. That might reduce congestion on some highways, particularly in urban areas, and be a legitimate competitor to the airlines on some routes. Instead, he asked for the cut in the federal subsidy of Amtrak.

Encouragement and incentives to increase efficiency and improvement in rail infrastructure are the better way to go. When rail travel can establish a reputation for comfort and on-time performance, there will be people out there waiting to ride.