Didn't plan on being at Union Station in Los Angeles, but when airfare can be more expensive and…read moreUbers are more crazy, you look for alternatives. I needed to get from LAX to Irvine on the cheap and looked at my alternatives. After looking at Greyhound and other airport shuttle services in the area, I decided to take the Amtrak that departed from Union Station Los Angeles to Irvine. It was not a short ride by any means, but it was convenient for me to get to where I wanted to go for a decent price. I booked the Amtrak ticket online about 2 days before arriving in Los Angeles. It was a fair price and definitely cheaper than an Uber ride. I was shocked at how much an Uber ride is in Los Angeles compared to the Amtrak. I arrived at Union Station around 6:30am on a Saturday morning in mid September 2026 after getting off a LAX FlyAway bus from LAX. I had time to kill and I walked around Union Station. Felt like a run down building but had its usual modern refinements. Even if its 2026, it felt like being in the 1960's and it's a train depot. With every modern enhancement here and concessions here, it felt like Union station was in a time warp, but we do need trains to get people and goods where they need to be. My time here at Union Station Los Angeles was brief. Even an Amtrak staff member who was driving in a golf cart saw me waiting on the platform told me to take an earlier train instead of waiting, but I decided to wait for my ticketed train anyway (an hour later). Thought that was weird. I walked around Union Station to kill time and when it was time to, I walked back to platform 9 with 15 minutes till departure and boarded the Surfrider train bound for San Diego and getting off at Irvine station. Union Station has limited concessions here but at least there's restrooms and places to sit down to wait for your train out of Los Angeles. The overall experience here at Union Station was typical. It is a waystation for those who are commuting on the Amtrak. It is a nice building for the Amtrak hub for all trains passing thru the Los Angeles corridor. The building is dated but it works for most people who are traveling on Amtrak and the Metrolink on any given casual day. For the most part though, my experience here was good and uneventful. I saw a couple of people talking out loud and could have been homeless. I'm thankful that Union Station is predominately safe and have uniformed security around to make sure that everyone is safe and secured. And so, if you are coming or going inside Los Angeles and want to find alternatives to air travel, consider Amtrak and Union Station Los Angeles for your way out of California and where you want to be. Union Station Los Angeles is located at 800 N Alameda Street in downtown Los Angeles, California. It's a main hub for Amtrak and a gateway to cities north, east, and south of the city. All Amtrak tickets can be purchased at Union Station Amtrak kiosks or online at Amtrak's website in advance. The tickets are fairly cheap, depending on how far you travel. Only thing about train travel is that its fairly slower than air travel, but it can be quite inexpensive compared to air travel too. Just depends on what you want to do and if you have the time for it. Union Station is open to the public, but I'm thinking it can be restrictive if you don't have a ticket and officials can ask you for a ticket if you're just loitering in the building. I'm not sure if there is a parking lot for those who park and take the train, but you'd think there is. I'm just a tourist that took a train here at Union Station. I'm sure there there's a lot of public transportation options in the Los Angeles area to get you to Union Station, if you decide you want to ride the Amtrak. I'm just glad that there are restrooms here at Union Station. It just feels like a big building with a few concessions and restrooms. The rest of it is platforms for the departing and arriving Amtrak trains. Like a large theater or a small airport. Happy travels! 4.0 stars for the overall experience. Support local! B

Lately the only time I'm utilizing this station is the connection of trains. Coming or going to…read morePalm Springs from LA. It's quite a big station and can be a bit intimidating if it's your first time walking through. Of course you have the main entrance that welcomes you with the station architecture. There's food stalls incase you have a little wait time and wanted something to eat. Starbucks is also located inside. Restroom are scattered but it seemed like the only ones I've found are along the hallway where the tracks are. A big hub where the Amtrak's meets and connects to the metro that takes throughout the city. Coming or going from Palm Springs is my connecting here whenever I'm not driving and dealing with traffic. You can also start here is you want to get around the city with the different color line train. Santa Monica, the valley, Pasadena, Long Beach are all accessible through the station here with the different color metro. There are a lot of tracks so make sure to read the screen where all the stations are marked to know which track your train is at. Not only the train, you can also catch the greyhound bus at this station. Depending on how the tracks run, it's a give or take if they're on time. This past experience, after we left the station heading towards Fullerton, train stopped for a good half hour as there was some kind of delay with the tracks. So you never know what you'll get.

The cheapest alternative that's good for tourists or anyone who needs to get anywhere fast and…read morethat's not an Uber would have to be the Amtrak. Amtrak is definitely a good one, compared to taking multiple buses and or and Uber. I took the LAX FlyAway bus for $12 from LAX to Union Station one Saturday morning in September 2026. I then booked the Amtrak Surfliner to get to Irvine instead of having someone to pick me up early that morning or take an expensive shuttle or an Uber. The cost of the one way Amtrak ticket was a nice price at $19, so that was fairly good. It got me to where I needed to go and the ride was comfortable. The Amtrak train itself seem to be dated with all the trips it had to endure over the lifetime of voyages it had to make. The train ride was smooth and the ride took about an hour or so. It was a nice ride from an 8am departure from LAX Union station and a 9:15am arrival into Irvine Amtrak station. I'd probably get to Irvine station earlier, but I'd had to pay more, which I didn't want to do. On that day, we all gathered about 15 minutes before the train opened its doors. I estimate maybe 7 minutes before departure, we would all board the train and get settled before the train departed. It was quite good and expedited to get everyone in and off we went. It would have been good to have passengers board the train 15 minutes before departure, so that the people who were waiting the longest could get comfortable on the train too, instead of sitting outside on the platform, especially in cold weather conditions. The overall experience here at the Amtrak Pacific Surfliner train was good and nice. The ride was uneventful and comfortable. I found seats where I could put my baggage on the seat and the Amtrak staff didn't tell me to put my stuff elsewhere for others. The seats were clean and the train itself was the best mode of transportation you could have without riding a car. But who would want one when costs are going up and up, and you just want to ride a train to get to where you need to go. During the train ride, they announced that they had a café car, which I did not use. Other than that, they unfortunately did not have an outlet for my phone to charge my phone and I didn't care if they had wifi on board. And so, it was a comfortable ride, even though it was a short one to Irvine. It may be cheaper than flying, when you can fly into a large hub like LAX and take the Amtrak to your final destination. The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner is a Amtrak train that starts in Union station Los Angeles and travels south to San Diego, California. While I did not get a chance to get to San Diego, I got a chance to get to my destination on time. Amtrak tickets can be purchased in advance online thru the website or at Amtrak stations on the day of travel. I never though train travel is alive and well, but Amtrak proved me wrong, especially when you're one of those who wants to save money on transportation costs these days. For the most part though, I enjoyed my short travel on the Pacific Surfliner here and hopefully you will too. As far as parking goes, there are parking lots adjacent to the train stations you are departing from and arriving to. And if you love public transportation, there's always routes you can take that will take you to and from the Amtrak station you're going to or leaving from. The train itself is clean and clearly monitored by Amtrak staff to ensure that people pay for their rides. They are happy and friendly and I trust that they love their jobs. If you love Amtrak, you'll love traveling here on the Pacific Surfliner or wherever your travels take you. 5.0 stars for the overall experience. Support local! A+

WHY? WHY? WHY? I come through here often (LA Union…read moreStation). I will never understand why, for a MAJOR CITY stop, they always seem to have ONE agent on duty for tickets. The line is always a mile long. WHY? WHY? WHY? Make sure you get here early. You will be waiting a long time. WHY? WHY? WHY?

Pretty easy Metro Station!…read more The Hollywood / Highland - Metro B (Red )Line is in the center of Hollywood with instant access to the Hollywood Ovation, Jimmy Kimmel Live, the TCL Chinese Theater (aka Grauman's), Hollywood Wax Museum, part of the Walk of Fame, Dolby Theater and numerous other Hollywood staples. The descend down is a few twist, turns and flights (of stairs)... As well as the journey up naturally. The elevator sometimes is down as are the escalators, but rarely at the same time and usually not for too long. You'll see LA Metro workers about more commonly here as this is a high foot traffic stop if you need any assistance. That cool down breeze coming up from the platform can be intense, but very welcome on warm weather days - hold onto your hats, caps and accessories. They have several kiosk for purchasing Metro Tap cards as well as reloading if you prefer a physical card, but you can also access and reload in the Metro Tap App which also lets you know when the next trains are arriving North West towards North Hollywood or East bound toward Hollywood /Vine Station and beyond. It's large and spacious compared to some other stations - very Hollywood and grand! Q Tip: There isn't parking for this metro location, but there is at North Hollywood as well as Universal Station.

Very convenient metro stop that will put you right in the heart of the action on Hollywood Blvd.read more

Very busy Metro Station in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles regardless of the time of day. A two…read morelevel station with multiple trains and subways coming and going all day. The 7th Street/Metro Station trains and subways connect you with Union Station, the Valley/North Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Long Beach, and Pamona. The station is very clean considering how busy it is with so many people. This station has a very NYC feel to it. There is a large and visible security and police presence which makes this station feel safe. Unlike most Metro stations, you'll see unhoused and sketchy people at this location. However, it feels safe because of the large Police presence. Just my experience.

The hub the connect most! If more stations were as connecting at 7th St/Metro Center LA would be so…read moremuch more public transit friendly! You can connect with the Metro Blue (A) and Expo Line (E) lines on the upper platform or the Red (B) and Purple (D) on the lower platforms not to mention the Silver (J) line above ground. There are tap stands and gates at every entrance and exit, even between switch and when you tap between trains it simple "Transfers" and doesn't reduce your fare at all. I think I had three transfers from near Studio City to NoHo to this station to the Blue line the other day... Was kind of cool! Definitely enjoy going green and riding metro when I can. I did here a rumor that the new K (Pink) Line might extend over to here as well at some point which would be pretty great. It's often busy here and the Expo and Blue are constantly running. The Red and Purple lines don't run as frequently as the others and as the day goes on, but it's about a 10 minute wait usually until after 5 PM where things shift and by night maybe every 15 to 30 minutes. I believe eventually Metro and this station will get back to later hours again and eventually run all night. Great Metro staff and the most you'll see at any station other than Union station. You can catch trains and/or exit from through The Bloc shopping center or across the street on the corner of 7th & Flower St.

The Los Angeles Metro Expo/Crenshaw Station consists of two distinct parts, located very close to…read moreeach other to make it a transfer station. In effect, it connects the East-West Metro E Line (Expo) to the North-South Metro K Line (Pink), making it a very important station for people trying to get to the airport and sporting venues like Sofi Stadium and Kia Spectrum. The at-grade station servicing the E Line opened on 2012, and was a stop on Phase I connecting downtown LA to Culver City. The underground station being the current terminus of the K Line, opened in 2022. It is quite deep underground (maybe 120 feet), having to take stairs to get to an intermediate floor, and then a long escalator to get to ground level. The two lines do not share a common track, and because the original station is outside, one has to walk street level and possibly cross a busy street to be able to connect. That's what I ended up doing when trying to exit the underground coming from Inglewood, and trying to catch the East bound 'E' train to downtown Los Angeles. Not ideal. The long term goal of the K line is to continue north, connecting to the D line and ultimately the B line. Since both of those lines run underground, it makes sense that this station would be as well. And the connection to make a transfer should be a lot better than what it is in Crenshaw/Expo.

I use this station everyday and it feels unsafe but it's ok. Trains are frequent and often. It does…read moreget interesting at night; I've seen things. Parking is a sh*t show. The West Angeles Church opened up their parking lot for commuters but they've now limited the number of floors, making it really hard to find available parking. Since the church doesn't pay taxes anyway, the city should require them to open the entire garage for commuters. Happy riding!

Frequent rider and this is definitely a major stop for me being literally across the street from…read moreThe Wiltern (famous great event venue), close to K-Town friends and near two of my favorite spots - Southland Beer (Western/8th) and Monty's Good Burger (Western/5th)... There's a lot of great stuff to explore! Currently the end of the Purple/D Line route (at least until 2025) - Wilshire/Western Station is not only a huge connecting hub to lots of great spaces, but also local metro routes. One of the cleanest stations, easy to use and access - attendants/metro staff is always chill and friendly. The escalators are usually working here compared to others that can go down from time to time as well as the elevators. You can purchase a pass at one of several terminals for $1 and either add stored value ($.175 each way with transfers), daily (day pass) and/or monthly riding. Discounts for students, seniors and income based fares as well. No parking at this station directly, however definitely plenty of connections.

Originally opening in 1996 as the final station of the LA Metro Purple Line (now officially the D…read moreline), Wilshire/Western is an underground station 50 - 70 feet below ground. It serves as one of the primary stations for Koreatown, and one I've used a multitude of times. There is a large open air plaza right above, making its entrance easy to recognize, but also serving as a magnet for vagrants. It is close to a variety of businesses (mostly Korean) that we frequent. It has served as the end of the very short D Line for a long time (and thus both sides of the platform has trains going to the same place), but will lose that title once the D Line extension (taking it all the way to UCLA) is done. The next segment will open in May 2026, going to Beverly Hills, then Century City, then finally to Westwood. One thing to note is I noticed the use of train cars with a different configuration that I'm used to on LA Metro. Instead of having seats facing forward/backward four across, this configuration has a lot more seats up against the wall, eliminating having to sit where someone could be right behind you. Learned that this is called 'New York-style' bench seating: there is a lot less sitting space, but more capacity for each car overall, with the majority of people standing. Definitely more useful for lines with more frequent stops contributing to shorter ride times.

Really clean and good areas to sit while waiting. Though there aren't any public restrooms at the…read morestation. I left my car here and nothing was broken into.

The Drivers are doing much better, thank you for dealing with my attitude sometimes! I just hate…read morewhen I make it to the door or I'm like 5 ft away and they leave! Like you guys are not the most punctual people I have ever met, either. Lol, however we need to work together to make this work!

A nice and centrally located station to hop on the E line to go east/west from Santa Monica all the…read moreway to east LA. You can tap with credit card or digital wallet. You don't have to get a TAP card anymore, which is very convenient.

This is a great location with ample parking. We came here to use this park and ride for the…read moreHollywood Bowl shuttle 662. I highly recommend checking out this option if you want to drink while at the Bowl or just don't want to be bothered dealing with parking at the Bowl. There's an attendant who is on site, and this adds an extra layer of protection and security if you're worried about leaving your car for a few hours. Seriously check it out!

Metro Green Line…read more This line has changed from a straight shot to or from Redondo to Norwalk. Now you must hop off from the K LINE and exit the LAX drop off just to connect to the green line. It's frustrating but it must be done to get on the green line. Overall, this train is ok compared to the blue and red line. Warning, you will encounter all types of people that are crazy, deranged, violent, smelly, loud, strange, weird etc.. You name it. Overall, it's a solid line for commuting from Point A-B. It's safe pertaining to engineering and train conductors. The people inside determines your experience. Ride at your own risk. Once you are on the Green line, you can expect a 25 minute ride all the way to Norwalk. There is a point from Long Beach Blvd all the way to Lakewood where it has not stops and it is zooming right through. That would be a 5 mile consistent ride without interrupted stops. Overall the Green line is solid.

Typically park here overnight to avoid the egregious parking fees charged by LAX airport hotels. $3…read moreper 24 hours can't be beat. Haven't experienced theft or vandalism (knock on wood). The new northern stops on the C line make it even easier to walk to a hotel. Unfortunately the parking kiosks don't recognize a Tap card in an Apple wallet. Have to scan the QR code to pay.