Will Amtrak ever start making regular stops at the NJ Transit Secaucus rail station, near MetLife stadium and the American Dream mega-mall and entertainment complex?

The proposal to do so comes as waterslides are being installed at the massive 18-acre American Dream mall and entertainment center currently under construction in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford. When it opens next year, it will be the largest mall in the country.

“We raised the issue with Amtrak and we continue raise it with a loud voice,” said Jim Kirkos, Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer. “Even if it’s just a few stops a day, it makes it more convenient for people coming from the North or South, whether it’s for a sporting event or American Dream.”

When Kirkos says from the North or South, he doesn’t mean Jersey. He’s talking about people traveling from from Washington D.C. or Boston. Now, they have to take Amtrak to Manhattan or Newark and double back to Secaucus, he said. NJ Transit trains run between Secaucus andMetLife stadium.

The only Amtrak train that ever stopped at Secaucus was the funeral train that transported U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg’s body to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. on June 6, 2013. The station was opened and named for Lautenberg in 2004.

“While Amtrak has stopped at Secaucus Junction during one previous nationally prominent event, it’s premature to discuss in depth an extension of service and potential impact on the region,” said Kimberly Woods an Amtrak spokeswoman.

The idea comes as the Meadowlands Sports Complex and MetLife Stadium is scheduled to host events of national and international prominence, such as Wrestlemania 35 in April 2019, the Army-Navy game in 2021 for the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and the World Cup finals in 2026.

“We’re thinking about things like an Amtrak stop, so it opens up it up to (people from) Boston and Philadelphia and Maryland and Washington,” Kirkos said.

The greater Meadowlands area has close to 10,000 hotel rooms and increasing the opportunities for visitors to travel and stay in the region means more money comes to and stays in New Jersey, he said.

While the decision doesn’t involve NJ Transit, executive director Kevin Corbett said it could be a revenue generator for the agency. Corbett talked about it after he spoke at a chamber breakfast on Friday.

“If it works for Amtrak… we can look at the engineers and equipment needed,” he said.

American Dream is expected to draw 40 million people a year and NJ Transit is currently “working closely” with developer Triple Five about mass transit options, Corbett said.

NJ Transit’s Metlife Stadium station is on the other side of Route 120 from American Dream, which will have 33,000 parking spaces and a bus hub.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.