U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is planning to go to Washington D.C. by train ahead of his inaugural ceremony set on Jan. 20, said the event committee on Monday.
According to the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Committee, Obama and his family will kick off the train tour of victory on Jan. 17, and hold a day-long series of events separately in three cities, with the first stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, site of the first Continental Congress.
Later in the day, they will be joined by Vice President-elect Joe Biden and his family in Wilmington, Delaware, and head to Baltimore, Maryland, before arriving in the capital in the evening.
"We hope to include as many Americans as possible who wish to participate, but can't be in Washington," said Emmett Beliveau, the committee's executive director. "These events will allow us to do that while honouring the rich history and tradition of previous inaugural journeys."
The committee also said in a statement that the trip marks "the final leg of a journey" that began on the steps of the Old State Capitol in Illinois, where Obama announced his bid for the White House in 2007, and will culminate on the steps of the United States Capitol.
Obama is to be sworn in as the country's first African-American president on Jan. 20, along with his new cabinet, when millions of people are expected to congregate in the capital for his inaugural ceremony.