Hard sell... Would need to be cheap.

Dreamstar's SF-LA night train signs 'collaboration' with Union Pacific

By Bill Buchanan

The California company working to start a deluxe overnight passenger train between San Francisco and Los Angeles says it has signed a “landmark memorandum” with Union Pacific Railroad.

It’s not a final contract, but Dreamstar Lines of Newport Beach said the memorandum of understanding “formaliz[es] the parties’ negotiations toward a comprehensive final agreement” and “identifies the fundamental terms for Dreamstar to operate its trains” on UP’s Coast Line via Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and San Jose.

Dreamstar wants to start the service in summer 2025. Union Pacific owns most of the 470-mile route. To complete the link between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Dreamstar also needs agreements to use tracks owned by regional transit operators Caltrain and Metrolink.

“We’re in talks with both and working towards acceptable terms for track access,” said Dreamstar CEO Joshua Dominic. “Both have been wonderful to work with and communicated interest toward getting our trains rolling.”

Union Pacific, responding to Dreamstar’s press release announcing the MOU, said only that it “has entered into formal negotiations with Dreamstar regarding proposed overnight passenger service between Los Angeles and San Francisco.”

The Coast Line is home to Amtrak’s Coast Starlight, which runs from San Jose to Los Angeles during the day. The route once hosted Southern Pacific railroad’s fabled overnight first-class Lark. 

Most U.S. travelers abandoned trains for driving or flying decades ago, but Dreamstar believes congested roads and the hassles and environmental cost of air travel create an opening for its service. Passengers could sleep most of the way. No night train has connected the Bay Area and Los Angeles since 1983.

Features and fares

Dreamstar’s train would offer “a range of classes, from economy roomettes to deluxe first class staterooms,” the press release said. Services would include showers, high-speed internet, “app-based arrangements for tickets, on-board food, beverage and hospitality services,” and “last mile” transportation.

Passengers could get snacks, small plates, desserts and drinks in the train’s lounge. “We’re also looking at onboard delivery options for breakfast,” Dominic said.

Fares, not yet decided, “will be on the low end of overnight rail travel in North America,” he said. Walk-up fares “would be competitive” with plane tickets bought “within the typical business travel window, less than three weeks before departure, or the cost of a flight with advance purchase plus a hotel.”

Dominic added they’re “looking at family accommodations” that would cost less than airfare for a group of four or more, he said, or possibly lower “if demand comes in at the higher end of our projections.”

Limited coach seating would be available “for shorter trips near the ends of the route,” Dominic said. The train would make limited intermediate stops.

Dreamstar plans to use remanufactured bi-level cars. 

Passengers might be able to bring along their vehicles, Dominic said. Without disclosing specifics, he said customers would “pull up to the station, board the train, and when you exit the train, your automobile will be waiting for you in the parking lot.”

Dreamstar said it plans to offer services in other major travel markets “located one good night’s sleep apart by rail” in and outside the United States.

“Our collaboration with [UP] is a significant milestone for Dreamstar Lines and for the future of private rail travel in the United States,” Dominic said. “We are not only offering a luxurious and eco-friendly travel option but also revitalizing the rich heritage of overnight rail travel in America.”

Next steps

The MOU “is a preliminary agreement memorializing the status of our discussions to date, and to identify the basic compensation formula for track access,” Dominic said.

Dreamstar hopes it becomes a template for similar arrangements with the other track and facility owners. 

Next, Dominic says he plans to nail down the final track access and operations and maintenance agreements and complete the required insurance policies. He also needs to “raise the remaining funds to launch the service,” but the MOU is a momentum boost.

“We’re targeting having all of the agreements finalized roughly one year before our intended launch date in late summer 2025,” he said.