SAN FRANCISCO – A privately funded project to operate a nightly first-class passenger train between San Francisco and Los Angeles is underway, the SFGATE reported. Dreamstar Lines Inc., based in Newport Beach, says it’s working on lining up passenger cars, financing, staffing and agreements to operate the new service on the route once served by Southern Pacific’s overnight Lark.
Dreamstar founder Tom Eastmond, who works as an attorney, told the GATE that the service would offer travelers an appealing journey while they sleep in private rooms. The train would leave at about 10 p.m. and arrive at around 8:30 a.m. Eastmond said Dreamstar is talking with Union Pacific and commuter system Metrolink, which each own or control part of the 470-mile route. Both railroads confirmed they are discussing the proposal. “Union Pacific is engaged in discussions with Dreamstar Lines Inc., regarding this proposal,” UP spokeswoman Robynn Tysver told SFGATE. Dreamstar representatives recently presented “high-level plans for the proposed service to Metrolink staff,” said Scott Johnson, Metrolink’s director of communications. “More in-depth details and analysis would be needed for the service to move forward.”
Dreamstar would also need an agreement with the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board/Caltrain, which owns the tracks from San Jose to San Francisco. Eastmond said the company intends to contact Caltrain “once we’ve gone further down the road with UP.”
Dreamstar said it has lined up two advisory board members with railroad experience, including former Caltrain/SamTrans CEO Mike Scanlon. Scanlon joined the advisory board because he was “intrigued by the fact that you’re going to combine the transportation industry with the hospitality industry,” he told the Gate. “You’ll have a moving hotel room, for a niche audience. It could be practical, economical and a lot of fun. I think it can work.”
Most ticket sales would be electronic, and an app could help riders arrange food and related services. The company is negotiating with owners of streamline-era cars to equip the train, Eastmond said. The usual train would be five to six cars, all sleepers and a lounge car. There would be no diner. Fares would cost roughly $300, $600 and $1,000, he estimated, for a one-person roomette, two-person bedroom or premium room. The goal is to charge less than Amtrak.
“Improve mobility. That’s our objective,” Dreamstar President Jake Vollebregt told the GATE. “We have a lot of work to do, but the need is there, and we’re going to see if we can join stakeholders, both public and private, to create a partnership that’s sustainable and profitable.”
Dreamstar hopes to begin service in summer 2024, said Eastmond. The company would need agreements and more funding first, and a contract with Union Pacific. “In our investment pitch, we’re saying we make a decent profit with six cars,” he said. “Our model is based on about 45,000 riders per year, or 62 per train. That would be a 75% load factor.
As for financing, Eastmond said: “I can say very little. We will be doing another round. Do we have money to start service tomorrow if all contracts come into place? No, we haven’t tried that yet,” Eastmond said. “We’ve looked at some of the other ventures, and we understand the dangers of being undercapitalized. So, we’ll be raising some more in the future,” he told the GATE.
Southern Pacific’s overnight Lark operated on the route from 1910 to 1968. Between 1981 and 1983 the state of California subsidized an overnight Amtrak train on the route called the Spirit of California, but then-Governor George Deukmejian cut funding for the train after taking office in January 1983. The train was discontinued on Oct. 1, 1983.
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