(Bloomberg) - Legislation to end a ban on Americans traveling to Cuba has enough support in the U.S. House of Representatives to win approval by year-end, said Representative Sam Farr, a California Democrat. The bill to let U.S. citizens resume travel to the Caribbean island except in times of war or cases in which they face imminent danger has 181 votes in the House and needs 218 to pass, said Farr, a co-sponsor of the legislation. The plan is backed by travel groups such as the United States Tour Operators Association and the National Tour Association and human rights groups such as the Washington Office on Latin America and has been helped by President Barack Obama’s election, he said. “It is believed we can get to this before the end of the year,” Farr, 68, said in an interview in New York.

A group of House and Senate lawmakers proposed in March 2009 ending restrictions to allow all U.S. citizens and residents to travel to Cuba. Farr said the legislation, known as the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act,” also has enough votes to clear the Senate, where Senator Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, and Republican Senator Michael Enzi of Wyoming introduced the legislation. “There’s a lot more openness in the Congress,” Geoff Thale, program director in the Washington Office on Latin America, said in an interview in New York. “Support is building.

The travel restrictions steam from the embargo that was put in place by President Kennedy in 1962 after Fidel Castro came into power in Cuba. Over the years as a general rule Cuban-Americans could visit family once a year and a limited number of Americans were allowed to travel to Cuba only if they had special permits for certain cultural and educational programs. Then President Bush tightened the rules in 2004 which all but stopped most visits to Cuba for special interest groups and for Cuban-Americans.

President Obama has already lifted the travel restrictions for Cuban-Americans and intends to loosen other travel rules later this year. He does not intend to lift the trade embargo against Cuba but does intend to lift the travel ban for Americans by the end of 2009. There is now extreme pressure from advocates and special interest groups on the US government for greater openness with Cuba and the Obama administration has expressed a willingness to take a fresh look at Cuba.

Connecticut Democrat Rosa DeLauro is a co-sponsor for a bill in front of the US Congress for the scrapping of the ban on travel to the communist island, which has been under a U.S. trade embargo for almost five decades. "The proposal has support to pass because Obama and the U.S. business community favor it," said Representative DeLauro "This issue is being discussed in an absolutely brand new environment, which is drawing support that it has lacked in the past. Other Representatives and Senators have said they feel certain the travel ban will indeed be lifted before the end of 2009.

Cuba has about 48,000 hotel rooms. There are 15 hotels under joint venture contracts with foreign companies, and 49 hotels managed by international partners. Once the travel ban is lifted the Cuban government has said it may have to use visas to control the flow of U.S. tourists because it lacks sufficient hotel capacity to house them at this time. One Cuban official said at first Americans are not going to have massive entry, as we don't have the infrastructure for it. It was suggested that one way to control the American tourist is to give visas to those that have booked on a tour.

Cuba agrees with an estimate by the American Society of Travel Agents that 835,000 U.S. tourists a year, excluding cruise ships or Cuban-American family visitors, would come after an end to the travel ban. Cuba aims to build 30 new hotels with 10,000 rooms and 10 golf courses by 2014. Cuba has said "The Americans are welcome here," but we have to prepare for that.

For those of our clients that recall, we ran six railroad tours to Cuba in 2002 & 2003 which were Historic educational tours approved by the US government. We would have continued to run tours to Cuba but the Bush Administration cancelled most of these educational tours to Cuba On December 31, 2003. We are now looking forward to getting back in Cuba.

Day 2 Sunday April 18 : In the morning we will give you a brief Havana city tour before going to the Central train station for a visit. Other railroad points of interest will be visited today. We have made a request to visit the locomotive and car repair shops in nearby Cristina. Approval for our visit has not been approved by the railroad and government of Raul Castro. Overnight Havana.

Day 3 Monday April 19 : Departure by charter bus to the town of Hershey. Visit the vast electric workshops and all the installations for the Hershey Railroad. We then board our charter departing from the Hershey station with an electric pulled GE box cab with a mixed train running on the Caraballo and Bainoa branchlines and then onto the mainline for the run to the Havana Casablanca station, with photo runby's. The Havana Casablanca station is just across the Havana Bay from downtown. We then return to our hotel and 3rd overnight in Havana.

Day 7 Friday April 23 : In the morning we will visit some of the important attractions in Santa Clara including the square of the Che, beautiful downtown plaza and some historical locations of the Cuban Revolution before departing the city by charter bus to Moron. The Cuban rail system has based most of the classic American built 1950's EMD's and some Baldwin diesels here that still haul freight and passenger trains in all directions from this terminal. We will spend sometime trackside photographing the Baldwins and also visit the workshops. In the afternoon you will have a choice to ride the local passenger train pulled by a Baldwin diesel to Ciego de Avila or use our charter bus to follow this train for trackside photos. Hotel check-in at Ciego de Avila.

Day 9 Sunday April 25 : Today we will spend it in the ciyt visiting points of interest and photograph trains. 2nd overnight in Santiago de Cuba.

Day 10 Monday April 26 : We leave early morning by charter bus to Guantanamo (Cuban side) where a Charter Brill Railcar is waiting for us to ride the very scenic line back to Santiago de Cuba. This line has many bridges and tresles and we will make a number of spectacular photo run-by. 3rd overnight in Santiago de Cuba.

Day 11 Tuesday April 27 : We depart early morning from Santiago de Cuba on our charter bus for the trip to the sugar mill of Barlotome Maso. Here we will have a steam pulled charter train waiting for us to board for a run into the sugar cane fields with some nice photos run-by. Locomotive No. 1590 , an Alco 2-8-0 built in 1926 will pull our train. After our train ride we continue on our bus to Camaguey and hotel check-in.

Day 12 Wednesday April 28 : Morning hours to relax . You will have the morning hours free to explore this very nice colonial city and the train station. After lunch we travel by charter bus to Trinidad and hotel check-in .

Day 13 Thursday April 29 : In the morning we board the scheduled steam pulled excursion train in Trinidad which is used by tourist but we have been given permission to stage a number of photo run-bys by railroad mangement for our group. Upon arrival back in Trinidad you will have time to visit this fantastic colonial city, considered one of the best in all of the Americas. After lunch we depart by charter bus to Cienfuegos and hotel check-in.

Day 14 Friday April 30 : We depart from Cienfuegos mid morning onboard the scheduled train for Havana. This will be a long 10 hour day. Upon arrival in Havana hotel check-in and our hosted "Farewell to Cuba Dinner" in the evening.