Four of Amtrak'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 Patsaouras Transit Plaza, on the east side of the station, serves dozens of bus lines operated by Metro and several other municipal carriers.

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.

Proposition 8 asked "Shall a Union Railway Passenger Terminal for all steam railroads be established in the City of Los Angeles?

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 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.

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,[citation needed] which was demolished for the project.

Union Station was constructed on three to twenty feet of fill dirt placed over the original Los Angeles Chinatown.

Union Station saw heavy use during World War II, but later saw declining patronage due to the growing popularity of air travel and automobiles.

[6] The first commuter rail service to Union Station was the short-lived CalTrain that began operating on October 18, 1982, between Los Angeles and Oxnard.

)[19] 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.

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.

Metro plans to install Bluetooth beacons in Union Station to enable sending text messages to travelers' smartphones.

[24] 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.

[25] The ceremony was criticized for limiting access to the station and its COVID-19 testing site due to security measures mandated by the Academy.

[30][31][32][33] Public art has been added to the station including an aquarium with a wall featuring etchings of Tongva and Latino settlers such as Pío Pico.

[34] 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.

[36] Attached to the main building to the south is the station restaurant designed by the famed Southwestern architect Mary Colter.

The vast rectangular dining room has a rounded central counter, streamlined booths and inlaid cement tile floor in the pattern of a Navajo blanket.

As of October 2019[update], 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).

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 final environmental impact report for the "Los Angeles Union Station Run-Through Tracks Project" was published by the FRA in November 2005.

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.

[74] As a part of its Master Plan, Metro studied how to best integrate tracks and platforms for high-speed trains arrival into Union Station.

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.

[78] 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.

[79] The proposed Brightline West high speed line is scheduled to begin construction between Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga in late 2023 and is expected to be operational in mid-late 2027.

[82] [83] The facility served as a backdrop for the 1950 film Union Station,[84][85] which starred William Holden and Nancy Olson.

[94] The music videos of Backstreet Boys' "Chances", Fiona Apple's "Paper Bag,"[95] "Drops of Jupiter" by American band Train, directed by Nigel Dick;[96] and "Last Train Home" by John Mayer, directed by Cameron Duddy; were filmed in Union Station.