Passenger trains could benefit city

By Richard E. Law, Las Vegas

Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 | 2:02 a.m.

Our busy Rep. Dina Titus has ripped the lid off the canned Desert Wind train by floating her plan to restore service through conventional Amtrak.

Before Amtrak canceled it in 1997, the route offered a clean, leisurely, picturesque ride from Los Angeles to (and through) Las Vegas to Salt Lake City.

By offering freedom to move about the personal and baggage spaces, and even having a party room, such a train could emerge as a great tourist attraction.

Passengers could make connections to everywhere along the way, or hop off at a stop and pick up the next day’s train, while avoiding the hassles of expensive and crowded airplanes.

A relocated and well-kept train/bus depot seems to be the primary necessity. However, we would have to break the taxicab stranglehold that preserves lucrative rides to and from the airport at the exclusion of alternates.