The main Amtrak  station is at Union Station, 800 N. Alameda St. next to the Hollywood (US-101) freeway in downtown Los Angeles. The train station also has a Metro Red Line subway station (platforms in station's basement) and Metro Gold Line light rail station (on platforms 1 and 2, parallel to the Amtrak and Metrolink trains), while local city buses stop at various locations around the terminal, including some in the MTA (Patsaouras) bus plaza at the east portal of the station. The train station is patrolled by private security staff and people lingering too long in the seats may be asked to show a ticket. Taxis are available at the west exit and the station is within short walking distance to the Civic Center and Olvera Street. Chinatown and Little Tokyo are also nearby. Be warned that it can get quite uncomfortable in the station especially when it is hot and/or there are a lot of people. Great for business travel but perhaps not the best for families or any large group of people.

Amtrak routes serving Los Angeles are the following:
The Coast Starlight: runs daily between Los Angeles and Seattle via Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area, with one other LA County stop northwest of Downtown in the San Fernando Valley (Van Nuys).

The Pacific Surfliner: runs several trains daily between San Diego and Los Angeles, with some trains traveling north to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. There are many local stops northwest of Downtown in the San Fernando Valley (it shares a route with the Coast Starlight but stops at more stations) and southeast to Orange County.

The Southwest Chief: runs daily to Chicago via Albuquerque and Kansas City. Local stops south of Downtown and east into the Inland Empire (Fullerton, Riverside, and San Bernardino).

The Sunset Limited: runs three times a week out to New Orleans via Tucson and San Antonio. Additionally, Amtrak's Texas Eagle service between San Antonio and Chicago incorporates the Sunset Limited to provide a direct connection to Los Angeles. Local stops east of Downtown into the Inland Empire (Pomona and Ontario).