Amtrak passengers might want to allow some extra traveling time.

Amtrak's on-time performance last year was its worst since the 1970s. Only 68 percent of Amtrak trains arrived when they were supposed to.

The Capitol Limited, between Washington, DC and Chicago, was among Amtrak's most dismal performers, with just eleven percent of trains arriving within 30 minutes of their scheduled time last year.

The main problem is that Amtrak must share tracks with freight trains. Freight volume is up, and so is wear and tear on the tracks, so Amtrak trains are going slower than they otherwise would.

Even members of Congress who vote on Amtrak's subsidies have gotten caught in the holdups. Earlier this month, House Democrats traveling to a retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, arrived two hours late after getting stuck behind a CX freight train with engine trouble.

Meanwhile, the president of Amtrak says railroads are planning improvements that he says are quote, "nothing short of stunning."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)