A high-speed rail line hopes to connect Los Angeles to New York City in time for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A proposal — dubbed “The Transcontinental Chief” and pitched to Amtrak as well as President Trump and his secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy — would shoot riders between the country’s two biggest cities in just 72 hours.
Delaware-based Ameristar Rail said it would use existing infrastructure owned by Amtrak and other regional rail lines passing through major cities like Kansas City, Chicago and Philadelphia rather than launch a massive and costly new public project.
It would be funded by private investors — not taxpayers — and would carry vehicles as well as passengers, modeled after Europe’s truck transport trains, Ameristar said.
“The Transcontinental Chief will be a great opportunity for Amtrak to team up with the private sector to confront the challenges of its money-losing long-distance trains and create opportunities to usher in a profitable Golden Age of rail travel for passengers and truckers, with the ingenuity of free enterprise, as we celebrate our great nation’s 250th birthday next year,” Scott Spencer, AmeriStarRail’s chief operating officer, wrote in a letter to Amtrak, according to Newsweek.
AmeriStarRail hopes to have it running by May 10, 2026 — in time for the FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted across North America, with the finals at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The plan has been pitched to President Trump and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the paper reported.
Ameristar leaders said taxpayers will not foot the project, which would be funded by private investors.
“Subject to operating agreements with the host railroads (BNSF, Norfolk Southern and New Jersey Transit) the Transcontinental Chief can start operations on National Train Day, Sunday, May 10, 2026 to begin serving tourists for America 250 celebrations and the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” a spokesperson said.
“The Transcontinental Chief can be privately operated and funded, without new congressional legislation or additional federal spending.”
Amtrak has not yet responded to the proposal, according to Newsweek.
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