PARIS—Getting here was not half the fun—it was none of the fun.

An irritating time going through security before departing O’Hare plus further grief arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport rubbed raw my discontent with air travel and reinforced my view that investment in high-speed railroads may be the most valuable aspect of President Obama’s stimulus package.

He plans to put $8 billion into developing high-speed rail for two years, then an additional billion for each of the next five. That will not exactly catch us up to the great railroad system here in France, but it will be a beginning, creating tens of thousands of new jobs along the way. To say nothing of the fact that rail travel is better for the environment than planes or automobiles.

I’ve been increasingly irritated by the hassles and indignities of air travel these days—the lines, the searches, the other silliness. Who hasn’t thought to themselves while removing their shoes, unpacking their computers and displaying their baggies of toothpaste and mouthwash that, indeed, the terrorists have already won?

Alternatively, if you check your bag through, you now get hit for another few bucks. Then we get on the planes and find that every minor comfort the airlines used to offer has become profit a center. We shell out cash on some lines even for a pillow.

Yes, yes, I know it’s all necessary and if we catch only one potential bomber it will be worth all our collective annoyance. But rail travel would be a welcome alternative.

Going from Washington to New York or New York to Boston these days I always opt for the train. It may take a couple of hours more, but it’s often cheaper and far more relaxing. I even made an overnight Chicago-New York voyage last summer, which I can’t exactly recommend to everyone, but it had its pleasures.

In any event, consider the possibilities of high-speed rail—speeds of 100 mph and more—commonplace all around Europe.

In a few weeks I’ll be traveling south to visit friends near Montpellier, 468 miles away. I’ll go from city center to city center in 3 hours and 25 minutes, averaging close to 135 mph at a round-trip cost of $140. I might save a net 90 minutes but pay up to double by flying.

Compare that to going from Washington to Boston—440 miles—on what is designed to be a fast train, but it travels at moderate speeds because of old-fashioned track. You’ll pay $248 each way and spend 6 hours and 38 minutes on the train if you’re lucky enough to be on time. The slower train takes another hour more but you save $125 each way.

The Obama Administration wants to begin to change all that. They’re looking at 10 different rail corridors, ranging from 100 to 600 miles long, including one with Chicago as a hub. We have the potential of making the 300-mile trip to St. Louis in about 3 hours—or only 2 hours to Springfield along the way. Illinois legislators should love that one!

Considering the good relations between the White House and Chicago these days, such a line becomes a distinct possibility.

Another wonderful possibility is a California line, already approved by voters, making the trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2 hours and 30 minutes. Imagine not having to go through the nightmare of the Los Angeles airport! Besides, it’s worth it just for the scenery.

The Republican canard is there will be a line from Disneyland to Las Vegas, supposedly to please Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. There never was such a plan.

That Boston-New York line, known as Acela, might get funding to lay down the proper tracks to fully utilize their potentially high-speed trains. Another possibility is a northern New England line, serving areas that are not even well served by the airlines.

They’re also talking about a Pacific Northwest corridor. Talk about great scenery!

Other lines might traverse New York state and Pennsylvania. Another on the drawing board would connect Washington DC to Florida and the Gulf Coast. Corridors might serve the Gulf Coast east to west, central to southern Florida and Texas to Oklahoma—even though they’re red states. (Yes, darlings, I’m sure politics will play a part in these decisions, but so what?)

Investing in rail is close to a perfect plan to deal with the economy and the environment—to say nothing of relieving the current epidemic of airport anxiety. The French rail system can be a great model.

Now if we would only look to their magnificent health-care system as another model…but that, my dears, is another story.

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Don Rose is a regular columnist for the Chicago Daily Observer