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Everyone loves a train, and if they don’t, they’ve never been on one. It’s a great way to see the countryside in a relatively sustainable manner, without the need to consult maps, drive or even stay awake. And for a long time, Californians have been waiting for the much-talked-of high-speed rail train that is supposed to go south, down the San Joaquin Valley, through Fresno and on to Bakersfield. In the meantime, a company called Dreamstar Lines plans to run between San Francisco and Los Angeles, as reported by SF Gate. The only catch? It’s at night. But hey: redeye travel means you multitask traveling and sleeping. Win!
Dreamstar Lines’ route will include first-class sleeper service: the first such travel on the route in decades, since a Southern Pacific train called the Lark last ran in 1968. It would travel along the same lines used during the day by Amtrak’s Coast Starlight trains. Plans call for a train leaving at 10 p.m. and arriving at 8:30 the next morning, with a ticket price starting at $300 for a one-person roommette and going as high as $1,000 for a larger premium room.
The company's goal is to charge less than Amtrak within a beautiful, streamlined Art Moderne train (Amtrak is working to upgrade its trains and roll out new ones, too) with an upscale hotel experience. The night train eliminates the need to serve food to passengers and there will be no diner on board, although a lounge car may serve drinks and light snacks.
The reality may be here as soon as this fall! Although the SF Gate article references Summer 2024, Dreamstar’s own website says, “We are working fast to begin service as early as late 2023 on our first route, the busy Los Angeles to San Francisco Bay Area travel corridor.” And while we wait, we can jump on one of these wacky trains.
It’s a great time for rail infrastructure in general: rail company Brightline has been working to install high-speed rail between L.A. and Las Vegas and in the south between Raleigh and Richmond. We hope the train’s route will incorporate a wildlife ramp, especially in the portions near Los Angeles where mountain lions roam.