{"id":26006,"date":"2023-04-18T12:10:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T19:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26006"},"modified":"2023-04-18T12:10:41","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T19:10:41","slug":"california-startup-dreamstar-wants-to-run-a-private-night-train-between-sf-and-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/04\/18\/california-startup-dreamstar-wants-to-run-a-private-night-train-between-sf-and-la\/","title":{"rendered":"California startup Dreamstar wants to run a private night train between SF and LA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bill Buchanan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 17, 2023 (SFGate.com)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A stock image capturing railway tracks during a pastel sunset.Spondylolithesis\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A privately funded project to operate a nightly first-class passenger train between San Francisco and Los Angeles is underway.
\u00a0
Dreamstar Lines Inc., a small Newport Beach company, says it\u2019s working on lining up the railcars, financing, staffing and agreements needed to offer the\u00a0first night train on the route<\/a>\u00a0in decades.
\u00a0
However, hurdles remain before the train can start operating.
\u00a0
Many travelers abandoned passenger trains for driving or flying long ago, but Dreamstar believes modern road congestion and the hassles of air travel create an opening for its train. The SF-LA flight corridor is among the\u00a0busiest for travel in the United States<\/a>.
\u00a0
Dreamstar founder and adviser Tom Eastmond, who works as an attorney, said the service would \u201cannihilate distance through slumber\u201d by offering travelers an appealing journey while they sleep away the miles in private rooms. The train, not yet named, would leave at about 10 p.m. and arrive at around 8:30 a.m., largely sharing the same route that Amtrak\u2019s Coast Starlight uses during the day.
\u00a0
Eastmond said Dreamstar is talking with Union Pacific Railroad Co. (UP) and Southern California commuter system Metrolink, which each own or control part of the 470-mile route. UP owns most of it. Both railroads confirm the contact.
\u00a0
\u201cUnion Pacific is engaged in discussions with Dreamstar Lines Inc., regarding this proposal,\u201d UP spokesperson Robynn Tysver told SFGATE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dreamstar representatives recently presented \u201chigh-level plans for the proposed service to Metrolink staff,\u201d said Scott Johnson, director of communications for Metrolink. \u201cMore in-depth details and analysis would be needed for the service to move forward.\u201d
 
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 \u201conce we\u2019ve gone further down the road with UP.\u201d
 
Dreamstar said it has lined up two advisory board members with significant railroad operating experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"FILE:
FILE: Mike Scanlon at the Belmont Caltrain station. He previously oversaw Caltrain, SamTrans and the Transportation Authority in San Mateo County and now is an advisory board member for Dreamstar.Liz Hafalia\/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One is a familiar face in Bay Area rail transit: former Caltrain\/SamTrans CEO Mike Scanlon.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scanlon joined because he was \u201cintrigued by the fact that you\u2019re going to combine the transportation industry with the hospitality industry,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019ll have a moving hotel room, for a niche audience. It could be practical, economical and a lot of fun. I think it can work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Evoking the Lark<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the peak years of rail travel, the top night train between LA and San Francisco was the Southern Pacific railroad\u2019s first-class Lark. It ran until 1968. Eastmond cited it and other classic U.S. trains as models for Dreamstar. He said Dreamstar would even like to use the Lark\u2019s train numbers, 75 and 76.
 
Dreamstar wants a Streamline Moderne look, with touches of Art Deco and updated technology. Most ticket sales would be electronic, and an app could help riders arrange food and related services.
 
The company is negotiating with owners of classic streamliner-era railcars to equip the train, Eastmond said. The usual train would be five to six cars, all sleepers. One would include a lounge where passengers could order drinks or tavern food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Southern
Southern Pacific conductor Ira B. Gotfredson on the day of his retirement in August 1951 after 45 years working for the Southern Pacific \u201cLark.\u201dUniversity of Southern California\/Corbis via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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, which sells various sleeping accommodations and coach seats on its trains at prices that vary with demand.
 
The train would not have a diner. Operating one is expensive, and the schedule doesn\u2019t require meals.
 
\u201cImprove mobility. That\u2019s our objective,\u201d said Dreamstar President Jake Vollebregt. \u201cWe have a lot of work to do, but the need is there, and we\u2019re going to see if we can join stakeholders, both public and private, to create a partnership that\u2019s sustainable and profitable.\u201d
 
The train would stop at existing stations along the route, such as Santa Barbara, San Jose and San Luis Obispo. This would require agreements with stations\u2019 owners, which vary by city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summer 2024?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dreamstar hopes to begin service in summer 2024, Eastmond said. The company would need agreements and more funding first, and a contract with Union Pacific is key.
 
\u201cIn our investment pitch, we\u2019re saying we make a decent profit with six cars,\u201d he said. \u201cOur model is based on about 45,000 riders per year, or 62 per train. That would be a 75% load factor.\u201d Five dozen passengers represent less than half the capacity of a 737 jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"FILE:
FILE: (L to R) Federal Railroad Administrator Joe Boardman, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, and Metrolink CEO David Solow take a break from a press conference March 23, 2006, to wait for a passing Metrolink train to pass.Rick Loomis\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As for financing, \u201cI 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\u2019t tried that yet,\u201d Eastmond said. \u201cWe\u2019ve looked at some of the other ventures, and we understand the dangers of being undercapitalized. So we\u2019ll be raising some more in the future.\u201d
 
Presales of tickets could also raise money, he said, plus show interest.
 
Dreamstar has no connection to the California high-speed rail project, nor would it be an Amtrak train. They\u2019re different products, serving different travel audiences.
 
The start of Amtrak in 1971 marked the end of most privately run passenger trains in the United States. Several revivals since then have failed. One exception is Brightline, a privately owned and operated service in Florida that relies partly on related real estate development to make money. It’s developing Brightline West<\/a>, another private line, between Las Vegas and Southern California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
An Amtrak Coast Starlight passenger train after a technical stop at Moorpark Station outside Los Angeles.Laser1987\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dreamstar would like to expand to other U.S. routes, Eastmond said.
 
In addition to the Coast Starlight, Amtrak runs several trains daily between the Bay Area and Bakersfield, with bus connections to LA. It has shown no interest in adding a Bay Area-LA night train.
 
Dreamstar would need to coordinate with Amtrak, Eastmond said, adding that he thinks Amtrak \u201cdoes fairly well with the mission and resources they have\u201d but that Dreamstar is providing a train service that distinguishes itself from Amtrak and other rail proposals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a different kind of service than high-speed rail,\u201d Eastmond said. \u201cHalfway between transportation and hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bill Buchanan April 17, 2023 (SFGate.com) A privately funded project to operate a nightly first-class passenger train between San Francisco and Los Angeles is underway.\u00a0Dreamstar Lines Inc., a small Newport Beach company, says it\u2019s working on lining up the railcars, financing, staffing and agreements needed to offer the\u00a0first night train… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[431],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26006"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26006\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26007,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26006\/revisions\/26007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}