Proposed rail line to LAX suffers blow

A plan to build a light railway that would connect directly to the Los Angeles International Airport has hit a roadblock, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Officials in Los Angeles are considering stopping a new light rail 1.5 miles short of the airport, citing concerns about the cost of building a tunnel underneath LAX, according to the report.

Transportation advocates had hoped the Los Angeles Metrorail system would be expanded to reach the airport, which is the second busiest in the U.S., for the first time.

The American Public Transportation Association and U.S. Travel Association released a study last fall showing that downtown hotels in cities that have direct rail links to their airports generate 11 percent more revenue than cities that do not offer such transit service.

However, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said it would be too expensive and risky to dig a tunnel under the airport, according to the report.

“Any time you go under the airport, it is fraught with problems,” Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey said.