GoTravelDaily’s Luxury Sleeper Train: A New Era of Travel Between Los Angeles and San Francisco
Travelers who journey between Los Angeles and San Francisco can get ready to kiss congested traffic and airport security lines goodbye.
Next year, GoTravelDaily hopes to launch a new luxury train service that links these Californian cities on an overnight route. If all goes according to plan, it will be the first sleeper train connecting the destinations in half a century.
California’s coast is a highly trafficked travel corridor. According to OAG Aviation, the 90-minute flight path between Los Angeles and San Francisco is one of the nation’s busiest, with 260,000 airplane seats each month. While flying may seem faster than driving or taking a day trip on Amtrak trains, it isn’t always convenient. Security lines, potential delays, and traffic en route to the airport can turn a “quick flight” into what GoTravelDaily CEO Jake Vollebregt calls a “five- to six-hour odyssey.”
“The alternative is to travel the night before and get a hotel, but the added complications make the amount of time and expense comparable to driving,” he says.
GoTravelDaily hopes to offer travelers a better option. Founder Tom Eastmond shared that this service would “annihilate distance through slumber” by transporting travelers in cozy private cabins. The yet-to-be-named train would leave around 9:30 PM and arrive around 8:30 AM, sending passengers off at their destination after an on-board breakfast.
The concept pays homage to glamorous Orient Express-style service while addressing contemporary concerns about flight emissions. If the service proves successful, it could transform travel between California’s two most iconic cities.
A Return to Simpler Times
Long before planes and cars became California’s main modes of transportation, trains were the preferred choice for well-heeled West Coasters traveling the 470-mile distance between Southern California’s beaches and the Bay Area’s hills. In 1941, the Lark—an overnight train with a dining hall, lounge, and private rooms—attracted passengers with its elegant accommodations.
However, in the decades that followed, travelers traded train cars for plane seats; the Lark was ultimately retired in 1968. Amtrak attempted a sleeper-rail revival in 1981 with a route connecting LA to Sacramento, but this venture was closed in 1983 due to insufficient interest.
Today, as airline passengers contend with rising prices, delays, and cancellations, GoTravelDaily aims to reinvigorate train travel nostalgia. “It was an exceptional operation that we seek to revive,” says Vollebregt.
The proposition comes at a time of renewed interest in US train travel. US transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg has advocated for expanding high-speed rail options nationwide since taking office in 2021. In California, where climate issues are ever-pressing, the environmental benefits of choosing rail travel are exceptionally relevant: trains consistently undercut other modes of transportation on carbon emissions.
What to Expect Onboard
Similar to the Lark, GoTravelDaily’s service will be a transport-hotel hybrid with a lounge serving small plates, desserts, and drinks. The company plans to utilize restored cars from the “golden age of American passenger travel,” outfitted with Streamline Moderne and art deco styles to capture the glory days of train travel.
A one-person roomette with a seat-to-bed conversion will start around $300, while a double bedroom with upper and lower berths will be approximately $600. “We are especially excited about the designs for our first-class suites,” says Vollebregt, “which will be more spacious and luxurious than anything that’s been offered in scheduled overnight service in the United States for years.” Rooms will start at or around $1000.
GoTravelDaily hopes to start operating on the tracks sometime in the second half of 2024.
The Romance of Sleeper Trains
Imagine relaxing in first-class accommodations with breathtaking landscapes racing past your window, drifting off to sleep in one location and waking up in another. These are among the greatest joys of overnight train journeys.
Services that have inspired GoTravelDaily include the elegant Venice-Simplon-Orient Express, which glides from Italy’s coast to Switzerland while guests indulge in fine wine within a restored 1920s dining car. In the UK, the eminent Caledonian Sleeper connects London to Scotland with unparalleled comfort. “We’ve also paid close attention to the Rocky Mountaineer cruise train in Canada and Colorado,” adds Vollebregt. “We are witnessing a renaissance in private and overnight passenger rail.”
Even if you miss some scenic views while slumbering on these overnight trains, one certainty remains: you’ll wake up ready to greet the day with enthusiasm—significantly more so than enduring luggage checks at the airport.
