Metrolink at Union Station, Los Angeles. Photo by Felicia Aparicio.
In 1995, Burlington Northern merged with the Atchinson Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway. The following year, Southern Pacific Lines was acquired by Union Pacific Railroad.
Amtrak | Passengers | Union Station, 800 N Alameda St, LA 90012; (800) 872-7245 |
Metrolink (Southern California Regional Rail Authority) |
Passengers | 700 S Flower St, Ste 2600, Los Angeles 90017; (800) 371-LINK |
Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway | Freight | 3770 E 26th St, Los Angeles 90023; (323) 267-4140 |
Los Angeles Junction Railway (owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway) |
Freight | 4433 Exchange Ave, Los Angeles 90058; (323) 277-2001 |
Union Pacific Railroad Company | Freight | 13181 Crossroads Parkway North #500, City of Industry 91746 (626) 935-7602 |
Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad becomes the first railroad in Southern California in 1869. Source: USC Digital Library.
The first rail transportation into Los Angeles was the Los Angeles & San Pedro Railroad, built by General Phineas Banning in 1869. The first rail station in the city was located at Alameda and Commercial streets. The station burned down in 1924.
Over 4,000 Chinese construction workers built the first rail line into Los Angeles from San Francisco for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The line was completed on September 5, 1876, when a gold spike was driven into the final railroad tie at the now extinct town of Lang in the Santa Clarita Valley.