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Los Angeles Union Station is the main railroad station in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, and the largest
passenger rail A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
terminal in the
Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. As American settlement i ...
. It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Station, Central Station, and Salt Lake Station. Approved in a controversial ballot measure in 1926 and built in the 1930s, it served to consolidate rail services from the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
railroads into one terminal station. Conceived on a grand scale, Union Station became known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States. The structure combines
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
,
Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
, and
Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...
style. It was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1980. Today, the station is a major transportation hub for
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
, serving almost 110,000 passengers a day. It is by far the busiest railroad station in the Western United States; it is Amtrak's fifth-busiest station, and is the thirteenth-busiest railroad station in North America. Four of
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's long-distance trains originate and terminate here: the ''Coast Starlight'' to Seattle, the ''Southwest Chief'' and ''Texas Eagle'' to Chicago, and the ''Sunset Limited'' to New Orleans. The state-supported Amtrak ''Pacific Surfliner'' regional trains run frequently to San Diego and also to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The station is the hub of the Metrolink commuter rail system and is a major transfer point for several Metro Rail light rail and rapid transit lines. The Patsaouras Transit Plaza, on the east side of the station, serves dozens of bus lines operated by Metro and several other municipal carriers.


History

The city council of Los Angeles had desired since the 1910s to construct a
union station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
to replace the existing three terminal stations in Los Angeles: the Santa Fe's La Grande Station, the Southern Pacific's Central Station, and the
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
's Salt Lake Station. As the proposed station would be built and owned by the city and open to all prospective railroads, it threatened to break these three railroads' control over rail traffic into and out of the city. Their opposition led to a series of legal cases that were still not resolved by 1925, when the railroads offered a compromise solution. The Union Pacific's Salt Lake Station had burned down in 1924, forcing it to rent space in the Southern Pacific's Central Station. The railroads proposed to make this arrangement permanent, reducing the number of terminals to two, while also constructing a large network of elevated tracks at their own expense, to be used by them and the Pacific Electric. Not only would the new electrified tracks link the two terminals, but they would eliminate street running on some of the busiest streets in Los Angeles. The railroads' proposal immediately generated public controversy for and against the proposal, and in February 1926 the council agreed to place a non-binding question on the ballot asking voters whether they were in favor of the city council's union station proposal or the railroads' elevated railway plan. Proposition 8 asked "Shall a Union Railway Passenger Terminal for all steam railroads be established in the City of Los Angeles?", while Proposition 9 asked whether the proposed station should be built in Los Angeles Plaza. The issue became extremely heated, with both sides fiercely arguing their point. Elevated railway proponents, such as the '' Los Angeles Examiner'' and the Greater Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, pointed to the safety benefits of the elimination of grade crossings and the benefits to businesses of reduced traffic congestion, as well as claiming that the proposed union station site would cause heavy road congestion. Union station proponents, such as the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' and many homeowner associations, claimed that elevated railways harmed property values, made streets dangerously dark, produced unacceptable levels of noise, and were less safe than other forms of railroad. As the Los Angeles Plaza was near Los Angeles' original Chinatown, the debate took on racial connotations as well, with the ''Examiner'' claiming that being near Chinatown would mean that visitors to the city would receive a bad first impression, and the ''Times'' countering by arguing that the construction of the station would allow for urban renewal that would "spell the passing of Chinatown". When the two propositions were finally put to a vote, both passed; Proposition 8 by a 61.3 to 38.7 percent margin, and Proposition 9 by a much smaller 51.1 to 48.9 percent margin. However, largely due to the efforts of preservationist Christine Sterling and ''Los Angeles Times'' publisher Harry Chandler, Union Station would not replace the Plaza, but be built across the street in Chinatown, which was demolished for the project. During the construction process of Union Station, archaeological remains from the
Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...
village of Yaanga were uncovered. Researcher Joan Brown summarized this in 1992:
Previous archaeological studies conducted at and near Union Station indicate that buried intact prehistoric and historic deposits exist in-situ beneath and in the vicinity of Union Station. The extent of the archaeological deposits is unknown at this time. Union Station was constructed on three to twenty feet of fill dirt placed over the original Los Angeles Chinatown. Chinatown, in turn, had been built over the remains of an Indian village, tentatively identified as the village of Yangna.
The glamorous new $11 million station (in 1939 dollars) took over from La Grande Station which had suffered major damage in the
1933 Long Beach earthquake The 1933 Long Beach earthquake took place on March 10 at south of downtown Los Angeles. The epicenter was offshore, southeast of Long Beach, California, on the Newport–Inglewood Fault. The earthquake had a magnitude estimated at 6.4 , and ...
and Central Station, which had itself replaced the Arcade Depot in 1914. Passenger service was provided by the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and
Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...
, as well as local lines of the Pacific Electric Railway and Los Angeles Railway (LARy). The famed '' Super Chief'' luxury train carried Hollywood stars and others to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and thence the East Coast. Union Station saw heavy use during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, but later saw declining patronage due to policy shifts on the state and federal levels promoting the use of air travel and automobiles over passenger rail. In 1948, the Santa Fe's ''Super Chief'' lost its brakes coming into the station, smashed through a steel bumper and concrete wall, and stopped with one third of the front of the locomotive dangling over Aliso St. No one was killed or injured, but the engineer lost his job. The station was designated as a Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument No. 101 on August 2, 1972, and placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1980. The first commuter rail service to Union Station was the short-lived
CalTrain Caltrain (reporting mark JPBX) is a commuter rail line in California, serving the San Francisco Peninsula and Santa Clara Valley (Silicon Valley). The southern terminus is in San Jose, California, San Jose at the Tamien station with weekday r ...
that began operating on October 18, 1982, between Los Angeles and Oxnard. The service faced economic and political problems from the start and was suspended in March 1983. The next attempt at commuter rail came in 1990 with the launch of the
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
-operated '' Orange County Commuter''. The once-daily round-trip served stations between Los Angeles and San Juan Capistrano. In December 1989, the Santa Fe Pacific Realty Co purchased Southern Pacific's shareholding in the station, followed in January 1990 by Union Pacific's 22% and Santa Fe's 34%. Metrolink commuter rail service began on October 26, 1992, with Union Station as the terminus for the San Bernardino Line, the Santa Clarita Line (later renamed the Antelope Valley Line) and the Ventura County Line. In January 1993, Metro's Red Line subway began service to the station, followed by Metrolink's Riverside Line in June. The ''Orange County Commuter'' train was discontinued on March 28, 1994, and replaced by Metrolink's Orange County Line. In May 2002, Metrolink added additional service to stations in Orange and Riverside counties with the opening of the 91 Line (now the 91/Perris Valley Line.) Light rail service arrived at Union Station on July 26, 2003, when Metro's Gold Line began operating to Pasadena from tracks 1 and 2. The line was expanded south over US 101 in November 2009 with the opening of the Gold Line Eastside Extension. In February 2011, the board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) approved the purchase of Union Station from Prologis and Catellus Development (a descendant of the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads) for $75 million. The deal was closed on April 14, 2011. Since taking over ownership of the station, Metro has focused on increasing services for passengers at the station. One of the most noticeable changes is the addition of several retail and dining businesses to the concourse. Amtrak opened a Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station on September 23, 2013. The lounge is open to Amtrak passengers traveling in sleeping car accommodations as well as some Amtrak Guest Rewards members (Select Plus and Select Executive levels only). The lounge features a staffed ticket counter, complimentary refreshments, complimentary
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
, and a conference room. Passengers using the Metropolitan Lounge receive priority boarding. Metro plans to install
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
beacons in Union Station to enable sending text messages to travelers'
smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...
. On March 15, 2021, it was announced that the station would serve as a joint venue of the 93rd Academy Awards along with the Dolby Theatre due to the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on certain 2020s in film, films in the early 2020s, mirroring its Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and cultural heritage, impacts across all arts sectors. Across the world, and to varying deg ...
. The ceremony was criticized for limiting access to the station and its COVID-19 testing site due to security measures mandated by the Academy. On October 19, 2022, Greyhound moved its primary Los Angeles station to the Patsaouras Transit Plaza at Union Station.


Architecture

Union Station was partially designed by John and Donald Parkinson, the father-and-son architectural firm who had also designed Los Angeles City Hall and other landmark Los Angeles buildings. They were assisted by a group of supporting architects, including Jan van der Linden. The structure combines
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...
,
Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...
, and
Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...
style, with architectural details such as eight-pointed stars, and even elements of Dutch Colonial Revival architecture (at the suggestion of the Dutch-born Jan von der Linden). Enclosed garden patios are on either side of the waiting room, and passengers exiting the trains were originally directed through the southern garden. The lower parts of the interior walls are covered in travertine marble; the upper parts have an early form of acoustical tile. The floor in the large rooms is
terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...
with a central strip of inlaid marble (including travertine, somewhat unusual in floors since it is soft). The ceiling in the grand waiting room has the appearance of wood, but is actually made of steel. The original ticket lobby has high ceilings and a counter. It is closed to the public, but occasionally rented out for film shoots or special events.
Public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
has been added to the station including an aquarium with a wall featuring etchings of
Tongva The Tongva ( ) are an Indigenous peoples of California, Indigenous people of California from the Los Angeles Basin and the Channel Islands of California, Southern Channel Islands, an area covering approximately . In the precolonial era, the peop ...
and Latino settlers such as Pío Pico. Inside the grand waiting room is the Traxx restaurant and bar, which is Art Deco-themed, reflecting the history and architectural grandeur of its home. The restaurant opened in the late 1990s, and became a "top draw" at Union Station, according to the Los Angeles Times. Traxx closed between May and September 2019 as ownership of the restaurant changed. Attached to the main building to the south is the station restaurant designed by the famed Southwestern architect Mary Colter. It was the last of the " Harvey House" restaurants to be constructed as a part of a passenger terminal. The vast rectangular dining room has a rounded central counter, streamlined booths and inlaid cement tile floor in the pattern of a Navajo blanket. Colter also designed a sleek,
Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...
cocktail lounge. The restaurant closed in 1967 and for decades remained largely empty, used only for the occasional film shoot or special event. In October 2018, following a four-year renovation process, the dining room re-opened as the "Imperial Western Beer Co.," a restaurant and bar with its own attached brewery, and the cocktail lounge re-opened as "The Streamliner," a smaller craft cocktail bar. Even with its grand scale, Union Station is still considered small in comparison to other
union station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
s.


Public art

Although Union Station contains no distinct sculptures or artworks from its early years, Metro rail development in the 1990s funded the installation of a variety of notable
public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...
murals and sculptural installations for the station's new subterranean lobbies, portals and subway platforms. The following Union Station public artworks include murals, granite seating sculptures, electronic wall-mounted art, glass mosaics, and a river-themed sculptural installation incorporating found objects from the subway excavation and an aquarium of native sea life. * ''L.A.: City of Angels'' (1993) by Cynthia Carlson * ''Traveler'' (1993) by Terry Schoonhoven * ''Union Chairs'' (1993) by Christopher Sproat * ''La Sombra del Arroyo'' (1995) by East Los Streetscapers * ''City of Dreams'' (1996) by Richard Wyatt Jr. * ''River of History'' (1996) by May Sun * ''Riverbench'' (1996) by May Sun and Paul Diez * ''A-Train'' (1996) by Bill Bell * ''Solar Shift: San Bernardino and Santa Monica'' (2006) by Roy Nicholson


Location

Union Station is located in the northeastern corner of
downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...
, on the property bounded by Alameda Street, Cesar Chavez Avenue, Vignes Street, and the Hollywood Freeway. It is across Alameda Street from L.A.'s historic Olvera Street and El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park. The historic Terminal Annex building is on the opposite side of the Chavez Avenue underpass. Chinatown and
Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...
are a short distance away. The Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of Union Station hosts several connecting bus lines, including Metro Local, Metro Rapid and Metro Express lines, as well as downtown
DASH The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway express bus service to Los Angeles International Airport,
Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...
buses, and
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
campus shuttles. The Transit Plaza is named after Nick Patsaouras, former RTD board member and advocate for public transportation. The Gateway Transit Center includes the station itself and the Patsaouras Transit Plaza, both of which were designed by Ehrenkrantz & Eckstut, along with the western terminus of the El Monte Busway, as well as Metro's headquarters building. , Amtrak and Metrolink share 12 of Union Station's 14 outdoor tracks, with 94 trains departing on most weekdays (95 on Wednesday, 96 on Friday).


Services


Amtrak


Amtrak long-distance routes

Union Station is the western terminus for four of Amtrak's long-distance trains: * ''
Coast Starlight The ''Coast Starlight'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on the West Coast of the United States between Seattle and Los Angeles via Portland, Oregon, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area. The train, ...
'', to
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(daily, service began 1971) * ''
Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and American Southwest ...
'', to
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
(daily, service began 1939 as '' Super Chief'', renamed ''Southwest Limited'' in 1974 and ''Southwest Chief'' in 1984) * ''
Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is a long-distance passenger train run by Amtrak, operating on a route between New Orleans and Los Angeles. Major stops include Houston, San Antonio and El Paso in Texas, as well as Tucson, Arizona. Opening in 1894 thr ...
'', to
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
(tri-weekly, service began 1939) * '' Texas Eagle'', to Chicago (tri-weekly, service began 1982): Runs combined with the ''Sunset Limited'' to San Antonio, where the train is split.


Amtrak California regional routes

Amtrak California operates multiple-times-daily regional rail services to cities across the state: * '' Pacific Surfliner'', from
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
to
San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...
via Los Angeles (service began 1939 as '' San Diegan,'' renamed ''Pacific Surfliner'' in 2000): 13 daily round trips, most of which originate and terminate here; three run to Goleta and two run to San Luis Obispo. * Connections to the '' San Joaquins'' to Oakland or
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
are provided through Amtrak Thruway services. ''( see below)''


Metrolink

The station is the hub for Metrolink and six of Metrolink's eight lines serve the station: * Antelope Valley Line, to Lancaster (service began 1992) * Riverside Line, to Riverside (service began 1993) * Orange County Line, to Oceanside (service began 1990 as the
Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
''Orange County Commuter'') * San Bernardino Line, to San Bernardino (service began 1992) * Ventura County Line, to Ventura (service began 1992) * 91/Perris Valley Line, to Perris (service began 2002)


Metro Rail

Three Metro Rail lines serve the station with about 300 Metro Rail trains departing every weekday. The B and D lines are heavy rail, and share a platform underground, while the A Line uses tracks one and two outside.


Metro Rail B and D lines

The Metro Rail B and D subway lines have their eastern terminus at Union Station and share two tracks below Union Station. There are two entrances to the platform: one is located inside Union Station's main concourse on the west side of the complex, near Alameda Street, and the other is located near the Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of the complex.


Metro Rail A Line

The Metro Rail A Line is a light rail line that passes through Union Station as it travels between Azusa and Long Beach. Trains use Tracks 1 and 2 of Union Station's 14 outdoor tracks. The platform is accessible via staircase and elevator from the main passenger tunnel. From the Gold line's opening on July 26, 2003, until the segment to East Los Angeles opened on November 15, 2009, this station was the southern terminus. The platform features an art installation, entitled ''Images of Commonality/Nature and Movement'', created by Beth Thielen. The platform station was formerly served by the L Line, which permanently closed on June 16, 2023, for the opening of the Regional Connector. The A Line now services the tracks north of Little Tokyo/Arts District, including Union Station.


Metro Busway


Metro J Line

One Metro Busway bus rapid transit line makes a stop at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza. The Metro Busway J Line operates between El Monte Bus Station,
downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...
, Harbor Gateway Transit Center and select trips to San Pedro using the El Monte Busway and Harbor Transitway.


Bus and coach services


Long-distance motorcoach


=Amtrak Thruway

= Amtrak California operates several motorcoach routes under the Amtrak Thruway brand from Union Station using dedicated bus bays at the north side of the station. Connections to '' San Joaquins'' trains are provided through bus route 1 that travel to and from the Bakersfield Amtrak Station. Direct rail service to Bakersfield is not possible because passenger trains are not normally allowed on the Tehachapi Loop near Bakersfield. When trains are not running during the overnight hours several bus routes provide service along the Pacific Surfliner route (to Santa Barbara, San Diego and select intermediate stations) and the San Joaquin route (to Fresno and select intermediate stations.): * Route 1: Bakersfield – Los Angeles – Santa Ana – San Diego


=Flixbus

= While it does not stop on the Union Station property, Flixbus provides intercity service to destinations across the Western United States from a parking lot across the street from the station on the northwest corner of Cesar Chavez Avenue and Vignes Street.


= Greyhound

= Greyhound Lines operates its main Los Angeles station from the Patsaouras Transit Plaza. The station opened on October 19, 2022, replacing a station located at 7th and Alameda in the Arts District.


Metro and municipal buses

Bus services using the Patsaouras Transit Plaza: *
Los Angeles Metro Bus The Los Angeles Metro Bus is the transit bus service in Los Angeles County, California, operated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro). Metro Bus operates in the Los Angeles Basin, the San Fernando Valley, and th ...
: , , * Antelope Valley Transit Authority: 785* * City of Commerce Transit: 600 * City of Santa Clarita Transit: 794* * LAX FlyAway * LADOT Commuter Express: Bunker Hill Shuttle*, *, *, *, * * LADOT DASH: D * Mount St. Mary's College Shuttle* *
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
Shuttles: UPC, HSC, ICS Bus services using the Union Station Patsaouras Bus Plaza station, which is located in the median of the El Monte Busway next to US-101: * Los Angeles Metro Busway: J Line *Los Angeles Metro Bus: Express , Express * * Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, *, *, *, *, *, *, * Bus services using the bus stop on Cesar Chavez Avenue & Vignes Street (northeast corner of station): *Los Angeles Metro Bus: , , *LADOT DASH: Lincoln Heights/Chinatown Bus services using the bus stop on Alameda Street & Los Angeles Street (outside western entrance): *Los Angeles Metro Bus: * Big Blue Bus: Rapid 10* *LADOT DASH: B * Torrance Transit: 4X* Bus service using the bus stop on the west side of Union Station (near the taxi stand and the Mozaic Apartments): * Dodger Stadium Express :* Indicates commuter service that operates only during weekday rush hours.


Future expansion


Link Union Station

With the number of trains using Union Station expanding, the stub-end layout of trackage is limiting the station's capacity. Trains can only enter or exit from the north side of the station. The configuration forces trains without cab-cars to slowly reverse in or out of the station and trains heading to or from the south to make a near-180 degree turn. Compounding the problem, is that while the station has 14 boarding tracks, multiple trains must squeeze onto just 5 tracks. Originally, there were more tracks at "the throat", but Metrolink had some removed to allow for faster speeds along the curves in and out of the station to improve efficiency as they enter or exit the station. This choke-point can delay arriving trains as they are forced to wait outside of the station to allow a departing train to exit the station. Departures are usually given priority, to free up platforms and to keep them from experiencing delays along their route. Therefore, Metro has proposed the Link Union Station (Link US, formerly named Southern California Regional Interconnector) Project, which would extend tracks 3–10 as run-through tracks, which will exit Union Station and cross over the El Monte Busway and US Route 101/Santa Ana Fwy on a long, elevated "S-curve" that will tie into the existing tracks along the Los Angeles River. The plan also includes tracks along the river that would create a "loop" around the station allowing all trains (including those to/from the north or west) to use the run-though tracks. Metro authorized preliminary engineering for the project in July 2012. A Request For Proposals (RFP) for Link Union Station was being prepared as of June 2013. The $31-million contract for the engineering work on the project was approved on April 24, 2014. The project's estimated value is $350 million. During construction, several tracks may be taken out of service due to their extension. To make up for the temporary loss of those platforms, track 13 was revitalized for use and tracks 14 & 15 were re-constructed. The project was completed on October 17, 2012. Once the Link US project is finished, the run-through tracks and tracks 13–14 will be in regular use (track 15 will be used for storage), resulting in a 40% increase in track capacity. On July 27, 2019, the Metro board officially approved and certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the Link US Union Station run-through tracks project. The FIER has an expanded central concourse hallway to replace the new elevated concourse proposed in the Draft EIR, and also eliminated the loop tracks. These modifications reduced project costs while prioritizing rider convenience while transferring between trains. A funding plan for the project was approved on April 21, 2020, with the project's Phase A completion targeted for 2028. In 2021, this project began construction, causing partial closure of platforms at this station. , Metro estimates that the first phase of the project will open in 2028.


Former run-through tracks project

California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
(Caltrans) and the
Federal Railroad Administration The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966. The purpose of the FRA is to promulgate and enforce railroa ...
previously drafted a plan to create run-through tracks at Union Station, but the project involved just four tracks and lacked the station "loop" limiting usage of the tracks just to trains heading to or from the south. The final environmental impact report for the "Los Angeles Union Station Run-Through Tracks Project" was published by the FRA in November 2005.


California High-Speed Rail

Union Station is planned to be a major hub for the future
California High-Speed Rail California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) is a publicly funded high-speed rail system being developed in California by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Phase 1, about long, is planned to run from San Francisco, California, San Francisco to ...
System. Upon completion, it is projected that passengers will be able to get from Union Station to the Salesforce Transit Center in the city of San Francisco in 2 hours and 40 minutes. As a part of its Master Plan, Metro studied how to best integrate tracks and platforms for high-speed trains arrival into Union Station. Options included an aerial structure above the existing platforms, an underground structure under Alameda Street, an underground structure under Vignes Street and an aerial structure east of Vignes. All plans include a new concourse for high-speed rail passengers and three platforms with six tracks. Since that time, the Link US project has resulted in changes to how High-Speed Rail (HSR) will be brought into Union Station. That project's Final Environmental Report (FEIR) released in June 2019 indicates that HSR will approach the station from the north, on tracks 3 thru 6, use rebuilt station platforms 2 and 3, then exit to the south onto a new viaduct over the El Monte Busway and Santa Ana Freeway, which curves east (over a rebuilt and relocated Commercial Street) to return to the existing rail corridor along the west bank of the
Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...
. Thus, only four tracks and two platforms at Union Station will be used for HSR, with the remaining six tracks being converted to thru status and using the new viaduct to be shared by Metrolink and Amtrak lines. Tracks 13 thru 15 will remain stubs, ending at the south side of the station. Construction on the run-through track is expected to start between 2023-2025 with a planned completion between 2028-2033.


Southeast Gateway Line

Metro selected Union Station as the eventual northern terminus of the planned Southeast Gateway Line in 2022. The new light rail line will serve new platforms either at the Forecourt or behind the Metropolitan Water District Building and may open as early as 2043.


Dodger Stadium gondola

The Los Angeles Aerial Rapid Transit Project is a proposed aerial gondola connecting the station to
Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...
.


Brightline West

The proposed Brightline West high speed line is scheduled to begin construction between
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
and Rancho Cucamonga in late 2023 and is expected to be operational in mid-late 2027. It is planned to connect to Los Angeles Union Station via existing Metrolink services, though Metrolink schedules will line up with Brightline schedules to allow for transfers.


Dreamstar Lines

Dreamstar Lines intends to launch an overnight passenger train service from Union Station to
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
4th and King Street station in 2025.


In popular culture

The facility served as a backdrop for the 1950 film ''
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
'', which starred William Holden and Nancy Olson. It has since been used in numerous films as a filming location, typically as a stand in for other fictional locations, including: * '' Blade Runner'' (as a police station) * '' Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'' * '' Drag Me to Hell'' * '' Gable and Lombard'' * ''
Bugsy ''Bugsy'' is a 1991 American biographical crime drama film directed by Barry Levinson and written by James Toback. Starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley, Elliott Gould, Bebe Neuwirth, and Joe Mantegna, the f ...
'' * '' Nick of Time'' * ''
Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
'' * '' Chandler'' * '' In the Mood'' * ''Private Eye'' (1987 TV movie starring
Josh Brolin Josh James Brolin (; born February 12, 1968) is an American actor. A son of actor James Brolin, he gained fame in his youth for his role in the adventure film ''The Goonies'' (1985). After years of decline, Brolin had a resurgence with his starr ...
) * '' Silver Streak'' * '' The Way We Were'' *'' Trancers II: The Return of Jack Deth'' * '' Under the Rainbow'' * '' To Live and Die in L.A.'' * '' Muppets Most Wanted'' * '' The Island'' * '' The Italian Job'' * '' Cry Danger'' * ''
Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
'' * '' Garfield: The Movie'' * '' The Dark Knight Rises'' (as Gotham City kangaroo court) Union Station has been featured in numerous television shows, such as '' Adam-12'', ''24'', '' Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'', and ''Euphoria''. It has also been featured in video games; Union Station, as it was in the late 1940s, appears in '' L.A. Noire'', while a smaller fictionalized version of the station appears in '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' as Unity Station. Union Station was featured in ''Visiting... with Huell Howser'' Episode 222. The music videos of Lifehouse's " You and Me",,
Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...
' " Chances",
Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...
's "
Paper Bag A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers' demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping bag, shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some co ...
," " Drops of Jupiter" by American band
Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
, directed by
Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is an English music video director and filmmaker. Originally from Catterick, North Yorkshire, he is based in Los Angeles, California. He has directed music videos for artists such as Britney Spears, Toto, Ba ...
; and " Last Train Home" by
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but he left for Atlanta in 1997 with fellow guitarist Clay Cook, with whom he formed the short-liv ...
, directed by Cameron Duddy; were filmed in Union Station. A significant portion of the music video for "
Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...
" by the band Slipknot was filmed within Union Station.


See also

* List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles * Los Angeles Metro Rail *
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), branded as Metro, is the county agency that plans, operates, and coordinates funding for most of the Transportation in Los Angeles, public transportation system in Los Ang ...
* Los Angeles Metro Rail rolling stock * Martin F. Betkouski, City Council member accused of profiting from land transactions in the area before Union Station was built


References


Notes


Further reading

* Musicant, Marlyn, ed., with Deverell, William and Roth, Matthew W. ''Los Angeles Union Station'' (Los Angeles): Getty, 2014. xvi, pp. 109; heavily illustrated.


External links

*
Union Station overview (LA Metro)

Map of connections in the Union Station area (LA Metro)

Map of bus services from Union Station (LA Metro)


*
"Union Station" ''Visiting... with Huell Howser'' (Episode 222 – September 26, 1994)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Union Station Los Angeles Buildings and structures in Downtown Los Angeles Railway stations in Los Angeles Transit centers in the United States Public transportation in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Metrolink stations in Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles Metro Busway stations A Line (Los Angeles Metro) stations B Line (Los Angeles Metro) stations D Line (Los Angeles Metro) stations J Line (Los Angeles Metro)
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles Railway stations in the United States opened in 1939 History of Los Angeles Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments Clock towers in California Towers in California John and Donald Parkinson buildings Art Deco architecture in California Art Deco railway stations Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California Mission Revival architecture in California Streamline Moderne architecture in California Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in Los Angeles County, California Bus stations in Los Angeles 1939 establishments in California Proposed California High-Speed Rail stations Railway stations located underground in California