Union Station (Los Angeles)

Los Angeles Union Station Amtrak, Metrolink and LA Metro station
Complex architecture of the main building and gardens
Station statistics
Address	Amtrak / Metrolink 800 North Alameda Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 Metro 801 Vignes Street Los Angeles, CA 90012
Coordinates	34.05515°N 118.23525°W / 34.05515; -118.23525
Platforms	7 island platforms (Amtrak/Metrolink) 1 island platform (Metro Gold Line) 1 island platform (Metro Red/Purple Lines) 1 island street platform (Metro Silver Line)
Tracks	15 (Amtrak/Metrolink) 2 (Metro Gold Line) 2 (Metro Red/Purple Lines)
Parking	3,000 park & ride spaces ($6 a day)
Bicycle facilities	24 bike rack spaces 20 locker spaces
Other information
Opened	May 3, 1939 (May 3, 1939)
Accessible
Code	LAX (Amtrak)
Owned by	Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Traffic
Passengers (2012)	1,657,446  3.2% (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Bob Hope Airport toward Seattle Coast Starlight Terminus Terminus Southwest Chief Fullerton toward Chicago Sunset Limited Pomona toward New Orleans Texas Eagle Pomona toward Chicago Glendale toward San Luis Obispo Pacific Surfliner Fullerton toward San Diego Terminus 91 Line Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs toward Riverside–Downtown Orange County Line Commerce toward Oceanside Riverside Line Montebello/Commerce toward Riverside–Downtown San Bernardino Line Cal State LA toward San Bernardino Glendale toward Lancaster Antelope Valley Line Terminus Glendale toward East Ventura Ventura County Line Metro Rail Civic Center toward North Hollywood Red Line Terminus Civic Center toward Wilshire/Western Purple Line Little Tokyo / Arts District toward Atlantic Gold Line Chinatown toward Sierra Madre Villa Metro Transitway Spring St. & 1st St. /City Hall toward Artesia Transit Center Silver Line LA County + USC Medical Center toward El Monte     Former services     Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Terminus Main Line Via Pasadena, Pomona Highland Park toward Chicago Dearborn Station Pasadena Major stations toward Chicago Dearborn Station Main Line Via Fullerton, Riverside Fullerton toward Chicago Dearborn Station Fullerton Major stations toward Chicago Dearborn Station Surf Line Fullerton toward San Diego
Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #101
Built:	1939
Architect:	Parkinson,John & Donald B.
Architectural style:	Moderne, Art Deco, Mission/Spanish Revival
Governing body:	Private
NRHP Reference#:	80000811
LAHCM #:	101
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	November 13, 1980
Designated LAHCM:	August 2, 1972

Los Angeles Union Station (or LAUS) is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California. In recent years the station has become a major transportation hub for Southern California serving 60,000 passengers a day as they access Amtrak long distance trains, Amtrak California regional trains, Metrolink commuter trains and several Metro Rail subway and light rail 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.

The station opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing the older La Grande Station and Central Station. One of a number of union stations built in the early 1900s it served trains from the Union Pacific, Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railways. Built on a grand scale, Union Station became known as "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Location

Union Station and the MTA Building

Union Station is located in the northeastern corner of Downtown Los Angeles, 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 are a short distance away.

The Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of Union Station hosts several connecting bus lines, including the Metro transitway Metro Silver Line, Metro Rapid, Metro Express and Metro Local lines, as well as downtown DASH shuttles, many municipal bus lines, FlyAway express bus service to Los Angeles International Airport, and University of Southern California 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, Patsaouras Transit Plaza, and 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 90 weekday trains departing (91 on Wednesday, 92 on Friday) as of July 2011.

Services

Amtrak

Amtrak long distance routes

Amtrak offers four long distance trains out of Los Angeles:

• Coast Starlight, to Seattle (service began 1971)
• Southwest Chief, to Chicago (service began 1971)
• Sunset Limited, to New Orleans (service began 1971)
• Texas Eagle, to Chicago via San Antonio (service began 1982)

Amtrak California regional routes

Caltrans partners with Amtrak to provide multiple-times-daily regional rail services to cities across California:

• Pacific Surfliner, from San Diego to San Luis Obispo via Los Angeles.
• Connections to the San Joaquin route to Oakland or Sacramento are provided through Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach services. (see below)

Metrolink

The station is the hub for Metrolink and six of Metrolink's seven lines serve the station:

• Antelope Valley Line, to Lancaster
• Riverside Line, to Riverside-Downtown
• Orange County Line, to Oceanside
• San Bernardino Line, to San Bernardino
• Ventura County Line, to East Ventura
• 91 Line, to Riverside-Downtown via Fullerton

Metro Rail

Three Metro Rail services serve the station with about 300 Metro Rail trains departing every weekday. The Metro Red Line and Metro Purple Line subway services have their eastern terminus at Union Station and share an underground level with two tracks below Union Station. There are two entrances: one is located at Union Station's main entrance on the west side of the complex, facing Alameda Street, and the other is located at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of the complex.

The Metro Gold Line is a light-rail line that passes through Union Station between Pasadena and East Los Angeles using Tracks 1 and 2 of Union Station's 14 outdoor tracks. Platforms are accessible from the main passenger tunnel via staircase and elevator. The art installation, entitled Images of Commonality/Nature and Movement, was created by Beth Thielen.

Metro Transitway

One Metro Transitway bus rapid transit line makes a stop outside Union Station. The Metro Silver Line is a bus rapid transit line operating between El Monte Bus Station, Downtown Los Angeles, and Harbor Gateway Transit Center using the El Monte Busway and Harbor Transitway. The Metro Silver Line along with bus routes which use the El Monte Busway do not stop inside the station. The Silver Line makes a street stop outside the station at El Monte Busway & Alameda St (entrance to the I-10 Freeway Metro Express Lanes). Metro and Foothill Transit's Silver 2 Silver program allows Metro Silver Line and Foothill Transit's Silver Streak passengers to ride any line by using each others pass. The agreement is only valid on Metro Silver Line and the Silver Streak between Downtown Los Angeles and El Monte Station.

Bus and coach services

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach

Amtrak operates several routes under the Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach brand from Union Station using dedicated bus bays at the north side of the station.

Connections to Amtrak California's San Joaquin route are provided through bus services to and from the Bakersfield Amtrak Station.

When trains aren't running during the overnight hours buses 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.)

Connections are also offered to Las Vegas and to the cruise terminals and Catalina Island ferries in Long Beach & San Pedro.

Routes:

• Los Angeles/Bakersfield
• Los Angeles/Long Beach & San Pedro
• Los Angeles/Santa Barbara
• Los Angeles to Van Nuys
• Los Angeles/Las Vegas.
• San Diego/Bakersfield (via Los Angeles)
• Santa Ana/Bakersfield (via Los Angeles)

Long-distance motorcoach

Megabus

Megabus provides operates several routes from Berth 1 at the Patsaouras Transit Plaza:

• M10 to Las Vegas
• M11 to San Francisco via Oakland
• M12 to San Francisco via San Jose

California Shuttle Bus

California Shuttle Bus provides service to San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose from a bus stop at Vignes and Ramirez streets.

FlyAway Bus

Direct FlyAway Bus service is offered between Union Station and Los Angeles International Airport. The blue buses run every 30 minutes between 5 am and 1 am and on the hour between 1 am and 5 am from Berth 9 of the Patsaouras Transit Plaza.

Metro and municipal buses

Bus services using the Patsaouras Transit Plaza:

• Metro Local: 33 (late nights only), 40
• Metro Express: 442, 485
• Metro Rapid: 704, 728, 733, 745
• Antelope Valley Transit Authority: 785*
• City of Santa Clarita Transit: 794*
• Foothill Transit: 699*
• LADOT DASH: D (weekdays only), Bunker Hill Shuttle
• LADOT Commuter Express: 430*, 534*
• Orange County Transportation Authority: 701*
• Santa Monica Transit: 10

Union Station bus stop for El Monte Busway services.

Most bus services using the using the nearby El Monte Busway use the bus stop west of Alameda Street at the entrance to the busway (southwest corner of station):

• Metro Transitway: Metro Silver Line
• Metro Express: 487, 489*
• Foothill Transit: Silver Streak, 481*, 493*, 497*, 498*, 499*

Bus services using the bus stop on Cesar Chavez Avenue & Vignes Street (northeast corner of station):

• Metro Local: 68, 70, 71, 78, 79, 378
• Metro Rapid: 770
• LADOT DASH: Lincoln Heights/Chinatown

Bus services using the bus stop on Alameda Street & Los Angeles Street (outside western entrance):

• Big Blue Bus: Rapid 10
• LADOT DASH: B (weekdays only)
• Torrance Transit: 4

* Indicates commuter service that operates only during weekday rush hours.

Architecture

The waiting room at the Los Angeles Union Station

Union Station Metro Red & Purple Lines Station.

Union Station was partially designed by John Parkinson and Donald B. Parkinson (the Parkinsons) 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 Dutch Colonial Revival architecture (the suggestion of the Dutch-born Jan von der Linden), Mission Revival, and Streamline Moderne style, with architectural details such as eight-pointed stars.

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 part of the interior walls is covered in travertine marble, and the upper part is covered with an early form of acoustical tile. The floor in the large rooms is terra cotta tile with a central strip of inlaid marble (including travertine, somewhat unusual in floors since it is soft).

Attached to the main building to the south is the station restaurant (the last of the "Harvey House" restaurants to be constructed as a part of a passenger terminal) designed by southwestern architect Mary Colter. Although now usually padlocked and stripped of many interior furnishings, the topology of its rounded central counter, streamlined booths, and inlaid floor patterns remain.

Even with its grand scale it is considered small in comparison to other union stations.

History

Aerial photograph of the station from the late 1990s.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's combined Super Chief/El Capitan at the station in 1966.

In 1926, a measure was placed on the ballot giving Los Angeles voters the choice between the construction of a vast network of elevated railways or the construction of a much smaller Union Station to consolidate different railroad terminals. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles.

The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown. Reflecting the prejudice of the era, the anti-railroad Los Angeles Times, a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the “midst of Chinatown” but rather would “forever do away with Chinatown and its environs.” Voters approved demolishing much of Chinatown to build Union Station by a narrow 51 to 48 percent.

The station took over service from La Grande Station and Central Station and originally served the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific Railroad, and Union Pacific Railroad, as well as the Pacific Electric Railway and Los Angeles Railway (LARy). It saw heavy use during World War II, but later saw declining patronage due to the growing popularity of air travel and automobiles.

The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was designated as Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument No. 101 on August 2, 1972.

Metro Gold Line train at Union Station.

The Ventura County Line, the Antelope Valley Line and the San Bernardino Line opened in 1992 in part, completely to San Bernardino by 1993, with the Orange County Line opening in 1994. The RedLine (including what is now the Purple Line) and the Riverside Line began operation from the station the following year. The Blue Line which opened in 1990 was originally intended to terminate at Union Station but currently terminates at 7th Street/Metro. The Gold Line began operating in 2003.^{[citation needed]}.

In February 2011, the Metro Board approved the purchase of Union Station from Catellus/Prologis for $75 million. The deal was closed on April 14, 2011.

The station was formerly designated the 'Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal' (LAUPT), but its former owner, Catellus Development, officially changed the name to Los Angeles Union Station.

Future expansion

New transit station on El Monte Busway

A new transitway station for the Silver Line is being created to the south of the Patsaouras Transit Plaza in the median of the El Monte Busway as part of the Metro ExpressLanes project. It will allow buses travelling in both directions on the busway to serve the Union station with a minimum of delay for passengers for other destinations. To avoid impacting the ExpressLane demonstration the station will be delayed undergoing construction and is not due to be open until mid 2015 at the earliest.

Southern California Regional Interconnect Project

With the number of trains using Union Station expanding, the stub-end layout of trackage at the station is becoming a liability. Trains are required to back out of the station (in push-pull configuration with the use of cab cars for Metrolink and the Pacific Surfliner) resulting in delays as multiple trains must use the same tracks to depart the station. Therefore, tracks 3–10 are being extended as run-through tracks, which will exit Union Station and cross over the 101 freeway to the existing BNSF tracks at an "S-curve." The run-through tracks are envisioned for use by the following trains when departing or arriving at Union Station: Amtrak Pacific Surfliners, the Southwest Chief, and the 91 and Orange County lines of Metrolink, as they currently must make a near-180 degree turn just outside the station in order to proceed in either direction. Northbound trains headed for Union Station would also use the run-through tracks allowing them to bypass the same curved track they must currently use. Most of the delays caused by the current configuration are suffered by arriving trains, as departures are usually given priority, often to free up needed platforms and to keep departing trains from experiencing delays along their route should they depart late.

During construction, tracks 3-6 will be out of service due to their extension. Because of this, in preparation for the construction of run-through tracks, track 13 is being revitalized for use, as well as the re-construction of tracks 14–15 (they were removed long ago, but the reason and date is unclear) in order to make up for the loss of tracks 3–6 in the process. Once the construction is finished, the run-through tracks and tracks 13–15 will be in regular use, resulting in a 40% increase in track capacity. The construction and revitalization of tracks 13–15 was completed on October 17, 2012. Metro will be releasing a Request for Proposals in late April or early May of this year for SCRIP. The Project’s estimated value is $350 million.

Caltrans and the Federal Railroad Administration have already drafted a plan to create four run-through tracks that would connect the south end of Union Station with the existing BNSF trackage south of US Route 101, directly south of Union Station. The Run Through Tracks would exit Union Station on a bridge crossing over the freeway, and continue on an elevated structure for approximately one mile until they reached the BNSF trackage on the west bank of the Los Angeles River. Notice to Proceed is expected in April 2013

The final environmental impact report was published by the FRA in November 2005.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority authorized preliminary engineering for a new plan in July 2012 that increased the run-through tracks from four to eight and a station loop. The MTA has called a meeting for potential contractors.

California High-Speed Rail

A Metrolink train at Union Station.

Union Station is planned to be a major hub for the future California High-Speed Rail System. To accommodate the future service, three platforms with six tracks will be built on an aerial structure above the existing platforms. Upon completion, passengers will be able to get from Union Station to the planned Transbay Terminal in San Francisco in 2 hours and 38 minutes.^{[citation needed]}

New Desert Wind Railway Express Train

A new "X" Train, express from Union Station to Las Vegas has been proposed. This would replace the old Amtrak Desert Wind, which closed in 1997. The New Desert Wind Railway Express Train would serve Los Angeles Union Station, Pomona, Ontario International Airport, San Bernardino, Victorville, Barstow and Las Vegas, Nevada. The proposal is based on a high speed rail extension to Las Vegas which would allow service to begin in Fall 2018. There will be a total of 20 new order locomotives with F59PH EMD. There would also be new train tickets, new validator tickets, new ticket vending machines, baggage service.^{[citation needed]}

If the Desert Wind X project is developed, there would be 12 Round Trips daily from Union Station in Los Angeles to Las Vegas: Departures at 6:30am, 9:30am, 12:45pm, 3:00pm, 7:40pm and 10:30pm^{[citation needed]} Arrivals at 5:50am, 8:00am, 11:30am, 2:00pm, 5:55pm and 9:10pm^{[citation needed]}

Los Angeles Union Station Transportation Center

The new Los Angeles Union Station Transportation Center will be planned at a new busway terminals to upper level to the transfer centers to the Park & Ride of L.A. Metro, Foothill Transit, Orange County Transportation Authority, Santa Clarita Transit, Burbank Bus, LADOT, Commuter Express, Big Blue Bus, LAX Flyaway Bus, Torrance Transit and Antelope Valley Transit to the new bridge flyover towards a Metrolink, Amtrak and Metro Gold Line Platforms to the new glass elevator is coming in 2015.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture

The facility served as a backdrop for the 1950 film Union Station, which starred William Holden and Nancy Olson. It has been used in many vintage motion pictures, many of the film noir variety. Movies that have featured Union Station as a filming location include:

• Armored Car Robbery
• Behave Yourself!
• Blade Runner
• Blondie Plays Cupid
• Can't Hardly Wait
• Collateral
• Criss Cross
• Cry Danger
• The Company She Keeps
• Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
• Drag Me to Hell
• The Driver
• Gable and Lombard
• Gangster Squad
• Highway 301
• The Hustler
• The Island
• In the Mood
• The Italian Job
• To Live & Die in L.A.
• The Narrow Margin
• Pearl Harbor
• Private Eye (1987 TV movie starring Josh Brolin)
• Raise Your Voice
• The Rebel Set
• Show Them No Mercy
• Silver Streak
• Southside 1-1000
• Speed
• Star Trek: First Contact
• Them!
• Through the Fire (Chaka Khan music video)
• Watch on the Rhine
• The Way We Were
• The Undercover Man
• Under the Rainbow
• You're Never Too Young
• The Dark Knight Rises 2012 – The Scarecrow trial courtroom.

Television shows incorporating the station as a backdrop include:

• 24
• Alias
• Castle (As a stand-in for Grand Central Terminal)
• Chuck
• The Closer
• Criminal Minds (As a stand-in for Washington Union Station)
• NCIS: Los Angeles
• Quantum Leap
• The Mentalist

The station is also featured in the music video to Lifehouse's You and Me, Train's Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me), Funk artist Prince and the music video to his song " Cream", Rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony's music video to their song " BNK" and the music video for HIM's Wings of a Butterfly. It has also been featured in several video games, including Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas as Unity Station, Midnight Club: Los Angeles and L.A. Noire as it appeared in 1947. In addition, the cover art for Bonnie Raitt's 1973 album Takin' My Time was shot inside of Union Station.

See also

• List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles

Union station movie appearance "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" 1982 Universal

References

Notes

External links

• Amtrak – Stations – Los Angeles, CA
• MTA Union Station connections overview
• MTA Union Station home page
• Metrolink Union Station overview
• Los Angeles, California; Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Los Angeles Amtrak station information (Texas Eagle)
• The Parkinson Architectural Archives: Union Station
• Public Art Works at the Union Station and in El Pueblo
• Historical sketch of Union Station – L.A. as Subject/KCET
• Howser, Huell (September 26, 1994). "Union Station – Visiting (222)". California's Gold. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive.