(The following appeared on the News Journal website on March 20, 2011.)
WILMINGTON, Del. — Vice President Joe Biden’s daily commute from the Wilmington Amtrak station to Washington for 36 years is something of the rail line’s legend.
Biden, a longtime proponent of the rail system, loves to tell stories about the people he’s met riding the train over the years and the close relationships he’s developed with local Amtrak employees, many of whom he regards as second family.
But as he stood inside the newly renovated train station Saturday, he admitted there were times he wasn’t so thrilled to be hopping aboard an Amtrak train.
“As a senator, I think the day I would least likely to actually be here was on a Saturday,” Biden joked as the Wilmington station was rededicated following a nearly two-year, $37.7 million renovation.
Saturday was the exception as Delaware’s most famous politician saw the 104-year-old building renamed in his honor. The building on French Street will be referred to as the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station, although it still will be known as the Wilmington station on train timetables.
“The truth is, I don’t deserve this, unless you reward longevity,” said Biden, who estimated that all the hours he spent on the train — 7,830 round trips, according to a newspaper tally — added up to about four years of his life.
The full story is on the News Journal website.