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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Benton Graham

Amtrak is smashing ridership records. Is it ready to handle the World Cup?

Soccer fans board an Amtrak train in Newark, New Jersey, during the Club World Cup in 2025.
Soccer fans relied on Amtrak for travel during last year’s Club World Cup. The rail service is expecting heavy usage during this summer’s World Cup. Photograph: Carl Recine/FIFA/Getty Images

Sebastian Caillat didn’t know how fascinating the dental industry could be until he sat next to a dentist on an Amtrak ride from college in New York City to his childhood home in Washington DC in 2023. They spent the ride discussing the dentist’s efforts to self-fund his own practice. Caillat was surprised to learn the extraordinary cost of dental technology equipment – but also how interesting a conversation about dental technology equipment could be.

In Caillat’s view, that conversation represented the magic of Amtrak trains, a mode of transport that he says encourages social interaction. He also saw this dynamic play out last summer, when he rode from New York City to Philadelphia for a Club World Cup match between Palmeiras and Botafogo. Fans of the Brazilian clubs engulfed a train that traveled through New York City and New Jersey, an area home to more than 70,000 Brazilians.

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