Brand USA Is Betting Visitors Will Fall for American Trains in 2027

The United States marks 200 years of passenger rail in 2027, and the country’s destination marketing body, Brand USA, is using the anniversary to pitch train travel to international visitors. Euronews reports that the celebration centres on February 28, 2027, though events are planned well beyond that date.

Brand USA chief executive Fred Dixon described rail as the place where America’s travel story began and said the romance of the rails endures. The routes being promoted include Amtrak’s Southwest Chief from Chicago to Los Angeles, the California Zephyr to the San Francisco Bay Area, the Coast Starlight from Seattle to Los Angeles and the Empire Builder, which passes Glacier National Park.

Heritage railways also feature, among them the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado, the Strasburg Rail Road in Pennsylvania and the Cass Scenic Railroad in West Virginia. Museums are getting attention too: Baltimore’s B&O Railroad Museum is adding an Innovation Hall, and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania plans an accessible roundhouse in 2027 for six historic steam locomotives.

There is a lodging angle as well. Suggested stays include Pullman-style rooms at the Crawford Hotel in Denver Union Station, restored carriages at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, and converted cabooses in Madrid, New Mexico. For anyone planning a 2027 US trip, the message is that the journey itself can be the itinerary.

Sources: Euronews, TravelExtra