Who says that our American cousins don’t lead the way with public transport innovation? Barack Obama may have just repeated Abraham Lincoln’s famous rail journey from 30th St station in Philadelphia to Washington’s Union Station, but a little known fact about Philadelphia station, which was built in 1933, is that its innovative construction features included a reinforced roof, with enough space to allow small aircraft to land.

Proposals were also being put forward in December 2005 to rename the station in honour of statesman Ben Franklin, whose 300th birthday was in January 2006. According to local newspaper reports, Philadelphians had mixed feelings about this proposal, whilst Amtrak officials had concerns about a station being named “Ben”, and they already have three other “Penn” stations. Thirtieth Street station has been used in numerous different films, including Blowout (1981), Trading places (1983) and Unbreakable (2000). However, my personal favourite would have to be Peter Wier’s 1985 film Witness, starring Harrison Ford.

When it comes to modern day practical matters, Philadelphia’s 30th St station, has the IATA code ZFV, with Amtrak’s Metroliner service to Newark Liberty airport being code shared with Continental Airlines. This station is perhaps the best served of all US stations when it comes to rail access to airports — as well as having easy access to Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), passengers can also take advantage of Amtrak trains to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI), or to other Washington airports via Washington Union Station.

• More information on flights to Philadelphia.