On the Wrong Track

Regarding the Travel Insider column “Amtrak’s Vegas Delays Are as Slow as Desert Tortoise” (Dec. 17): If U.S. officials say 2.3 million people fly between Los Angeles and Las Vegas each year, and Amtrak says it will take three years to get 100,000 of them on the train, why bother? No private enterprise would make a huge investment for such a small market share.

Of course, Amtrak does not use its own money; it uses ours. The cost of the Las Vegas service will only add to the huge deficits the taxpayer must pay for Amtrak annually and, evidently, will do little to reduce air or road congestion.

KEN BIRD

Woodridge, Ill.