US President-elect Barack Obama (2nd L) and Vice President-elect Joe Biden acknowledge supporters with their wives, Michelle Obama (L) and Jill Biden at a rally at the War Memorial Plaza in Baltimore, January 17, 2009, during Obama's whistle-stop tour from Philadelphia to Washington.[Agencies]

Obama said, "We recognize that such enormous challenges as the ones we face now will not be solved quickly. There will be false starts, there will be setbacks. There'll be frustrations and disappointments. I will make some mistakes. But we will be called to show patience even as we act with fierce urgency."

In Wilmington, Delaware, Obama picked up the Vice President-elect, Joe Biden. At a brief ceremony held at the Wilmington train station, Obama said to thousands of supporters that the US is at its own crossroads.

Obama said, "Now it falls to us to ensure that everyone in this country can make it if they try. Now it falls to us to pick ourselves up and reach for the promise of a better day and to work hard every single day together to perfect our union once more. Thank you very much, Wilmington."

Obama and his family started the train journey from Philadelphia earlier on Saturday. Before boarding, Obama addressed several hundred guests gathered inside a hall at Philadelphia's historic 30th Street train station. He said the country is facing severe challenges and the spiritual legacy of America's Founding Fathers is now needed more than ever.

Obama said, "Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but just the beginning. Join me in this effort. Join one another in this effort, and together, mindful of our proud history and hopeful for the future, let's seek a better world in our time."

Obama's train journey was following the more than century-old tradition of many US presidents-elects, in particular Abraham Lincoln, to travel to the national capital for inauguration by train.

The trip was designed to highlight the inaugural theme of "Renewing America's Promise".

(CCTV January 19, 2009)