Planes packed, flights late--how to fix? How about a stiff dose of "reform"?

The nation's air-travel network is in bad, bad shape. Despite decades of taxpayer subsidies that run into the billions, it's doing a lousy job serving passengers. U.S. News just compiled and released a list of the nation's "most miserable airports." Tops on the list, which is to say worst: Detroit (DTW), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Charlotte (CLT) and JFK.

At Chicago O'Hare, for example, 42% of the flights are late.

What do these big airports have in common? They are all big, big money losers. Each is heavily subsidized by federal tax dollars. Fortunately, certain transportation experts know exactly how to relieve the misery:

1. Cut their subsidy. As the so-called experts have told us over and over, subsidy = inefficiency. If you want an O'Hare that will run more than 57% of its flights on time, the very first thing to do is to end the federal subsidy. Force the authority to find efficiencies by casting off the bloat and shrinking to its most productive and profitable size.

2. Establish an "Airport Reform Council" to monitor the airport on its "glidepath to self-sufficiency." And if it's still losing money,

3. Bring in private operators to run it. Like, for example, BAA, which has "full operating responsibility" for the Indianapolis airport (way down the list at No. 29).

Unthinkable? Not exactly. Influential people like Rep. John Mica of Florida have been proposing these kinds of solutions for years. Thing is, though, they're only for Amtrak.

New York subways packed? No problem--just choose Amtrak!

New York City Transit just released an analysis that paints a grim picture of jam-packed subway trains, maxed-out capacity and mediocre on-time performance.

If only straphangers had a choice. Fortunately, according to one Joe Boardman, they do! In a letter to the Baltimore Sun last week, Mr. Boardman noted:

Nearly 550 million people board trains each year in this country, yet fewer than one in 20 of them chooses Amtrak.

In other words, commuter trains, subways and Amtrak are interchangeable. Choose one, choose the other, doesn't matter. Someone must tell the poor A train riders pronto!

One reads some boneheaded opinions expressed in the letters column of the newspaper. What makes this one stand out? Joe Boardman runs the Federal Railroad Administration.

And the passenger trains wouldn't be late either.

Coal is a very big cash generator for freight railroads. How big? Consider this:

In Wyoming's Powder River Basin, source of the low-sulfur coal that fires so many power plants, BNSF and Union Pacific are expanding their 50-50 joint venture, which when complete

will include 270 total miles of triple and quadruple tracks. It's designed to give the two competing railroads the most freight capacity. The lengthy trains, each with 135 cars, need enough track to get through. Rose compares the track expansion to driving on an eight-line highway.

"There's nothing like it in the world, in terms of freight rail capacity," Rose said. "It is the heaviest tonnage railroad in the world. ... If the entire U.S. network railroad system looked like the joint line, quite frankly, we would not have transportation problems in the United States."

We know there's congestion on the rails. Thanks to Amtrak, we even know where it's worst: where the Amtrak trains run latest. What would it take to secure a public stake in building more of these "eight-lane highways" of steel rail so that goods and passengers--not just coal--can move freely?

In France, what "TGV" really means.

The new TGV Est line just opened between Paris and the border city of Strasbourg. Trains on this line, which is exactly 300 kilometers long, will run at a maximum speed of 320 km/hr.

So that means you'll get from Paris to Strasbourg in less than a hour, right? Er, no. Scheduled time, end to end, is 2 hr 20 min. For an average speed of 129 km/hr, or 80 mph.

A comparable distance on the Northeast Corridor is New York-Baltimore. Acelas cover that distance in . . . wait for it . . . 2 hr 15 min.