L.A.’s Union Station is the major regional train station for Amtrak, Metrolink and Metro Rail. The station is Amtrak’s fifth busiest station having 1,464,289 Amtrak boardings and deboardings in 2006. Amtrak operates eleven daily round trips between San Diego and Los Angeles, five of which continue to Santa Barbara via the Pacific Surfliner, the only service that runs through Los Angeles multiple times daily.
Two of those trips continue to San Luis Obispo. The Coast Starlight provides additional service on the route and beyond to the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, and on to Seattle. Amtrak motor coaches connect from Los Angeles to the San Joaquin Route in Bakersfield with frequent service through the Central Valley of California to Sacramento, and Oakland. There is also daily service to Chicago on the Southwest Chief, and three times a week to New Orleans on the Sunset Limited. Due to the effects from Hurricane Katrina, Sunset Limited service east of New Orleans to Jacksonville, Florida has been discontinued, although Amtrak is required by current Federal Law to develop a plan to reinstate the service. The Texas Eagle is a second train to Chicago that has service three time a week. Between Los Angeles, and San Antonio, the Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle run together, and then the train is split. Sunset Limited to New Orleans, and Texas Eagle to Chicago. Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains stop at several locations in Los Angeles County, including Glendale, Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Chatsworth, and Van Nuys. Van Nuys Station in the community of Van Nuys serves northern portions of Los Angeles.
Because of the large volumes of import freight that flows into the city’s port complex, Los Angeles is a major freight railroad hub. Freight is hauled by Union Pacific Railroad and BNSF Railway. The now-defunct Southern Pacific Railroad once served the Los Angeles area before merging with Union Pacific. The Alameda Corridor, a below-grade rail corridor connects the port to the city’s main rail yards and to points further north and east.
Other Travel Guides
- Air transportation
- Harbors in Los Angeles
- Freeways in Los Angeles
- Buses in Los Angeles
- Metro Rail