Dreamstar Lines

Dreamstar Lines is a privately-owned passenger railroad company based in Newport Beach, CA. Dreamstar is planning a nightly inter-city service between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The train would share the same routes as Amtrak, Metrolink, and Caltrain. Service is anticipated to launch as early as 2025, succeeding the Lark that ended in 1968.

History
Jake Vollebregt created Dreamstar Lines in Newport Beach, CA. By 2023, Vollebregt publicized plans for an overnight “hotel train” as an alternative to flying, reviving a service that had discontinued 55 years prior. In April 2024, Joshua Dominic assumed leadership of the project. That month, Dreamstar signed a memorandum of understanding with Union Pacific Railroad to operate trains on its right-of-way.

Overview
Under Dreamstar’s current proposal, two trains, one headed north and one headed south, would run every night, departing from each terminus at 10:00p.m. and arriving at their final destination the next day at 8:30a.m. This schedule is similar to the red-eye travel in aviation. The trains would have intermediate station stops and crew turnovers near each end of the route, including in San Jose, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara.

Dreamstar's trainsets would consist of restored, historic bi-level cars. Onboard amenities include two sleeping arrangements; private rooms with lie-flat beds and premium bedrooms; a lounge, and breakfast delivery. Dreamstar’s tentative plan would also allow passengers to transport their automobiles on the train, an accommodation derived from Amtrak’s Auto Train.

Dreamstar is expected to commence service in summer 2025.

Route description
Under the plan, Dreamstar would operate between the Union Station in Los Angeles and the 4th and King Street station in San Francisco. The train would travel through California’s Central Coast region on a railroad known as the “Coast Line”, which is owned by Union Pacific and also serves Amtrak’s Coast Starlight and Pacific Surfliner. Other portions of Dreamstar’s planned route coincide with Metrolink’s Ventura County Line between Los Angeles and Montalvo, and Caltrain’s corridor between Gilroy and San Francisco. Dreamstar’s service retraces Southern Pacific’s Lark that ran from 1910 to 1968, as well as Amtrak’s short-lived Spirit of California.