By train
The main Amtrak (http://www.amtrak.com) 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 (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...) 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 (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...) 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 (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...) 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 (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...) runs three times a week out to New Orleans via Tucson and San Antonio. Additionally, Amtrak's Texas Eagle (http://www.texaseagle.com...) 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.
The San Joaquin (http://www.amtrak.com/ser...) from Fresno and Sacramento goes no further than Bakersfield about 115 miles to the north. However, coordinated bus travel to Union Station on a single ticket is available from Amtrak. From the San Joaquin Valley also know as the Central Valley, this is the only option available that involves any train service. Since the track is generally west of the State Route 99 freeway, it serves different cities than the Greyhound Bus line.
Metrolink (http://www.metrolinktrains.com) is an extensive regional train network with rail lines to Riverside, Lancaster, Oceanside, San Bernardino, Oxnard, and points in between. Union Station is the main station served by Amtrak, the hub of the Metrolink network, and it is well-served by the Los Angeles Metro.
Union Station is spectacular opened in 1939 and with the era's associated grand architecture, but there are several stops within the county that may be better located to your destination. LA is massive so make sure you get the right stop. Unfortunately, while Union Station has the best bus, subway, light rail, and commuter rail connections and a Hertz and Budget car rental desk, it may be far from other landmarks. If you are arriving in LA by train but planning to travel around the area, here are some alternate connection options:
The Burbank Amtrak station is next to the Burbank Bob Hope airport, where connections include Metrolink, bus and the usual rental cars at the airport's terminal. Book Amtrak through to Burbank BUR, although doing so means you'll probably make a connection to a Pacific Surfliner at Union Station since no long distance train serves Burbank. If that is the case, Pacific Surfliner tickets are not tied to a specific train and can be used on any Pacific Surfliner train as well as any Metrolink trains serving the same route. So when your long distance train arrives at Union Station, you can simply take the first available train heading to Burbank. Note that Metrolink calls the same station Burbank-Bob Hope Airport, as Metrolink also serves an additional Downtown Burbank station not served by Amtrak.
Los Angeles World Airports operates a cheap motorcoach service between Union Station and LAX, where every major rental car company has countless thousands of cars available weekend prices can be real bargains. Called the Union Station FlyAway, it serves the MTA Patsouras bus plaza adjacent to the station.
You can also take bus 42 or the subway to LAX Purple, Blue, and Green Line to LAX where you can rent cars. If you are a tourist, you can plan visiting all the tourist places that are on the Metro Subway lines on one or two days and rent the car only for the rest of the trip to go to Disneyland, Malibu or Santa Monica.
Several Metrolink lines overlap Amtrak's routes or serve the same cities via a slightly different routing. Metrolink tickets can cost significantly less than Amtrak tickets; for example, LA to Oceanside is $14 on Metrolink but $19 on Amtrak. Train frequencies vary between Amtrak and Metrolink for given station pairs some are more frequent via Amtrak and some are more frequent via Metrolink, since some Metrolink runs terminate before the end of the line.
By bus
The Greyhound (http://www.greyhound.com) terminal is at 1716 East 7th Street, near I-10 and South Alameda Street, south of the city's Downtown Arts District and east of the vast, notorious Skid Row district. Though a growing residential population in the area has brought increased safety and services, this neighborhood remains largely underdeveloped. You should still not linger around here longer than you have to, and staff often ask people who are here too long to show their tickets.
Access to connecting transit services is limited. From the Greyhound station, take a taxi or bus 760 or 60 to connect to Downtown.
Fortunately, other terminals are in far safer areas and have better access to public transportation. From the north, the North Hollywood station is located at 11239 Magnolia Boulevard, a quarter of a mile south of the Metro Red Line North Hollywood station. The Hollywood station, at 1715 North Cahuenga Boulevard, is a quarter of a mile west of the Metro Red Line Hollywood/Vine station. The Hollywood greyhound station closed in July 2012
Of note for passengers coming from the east is the El Monte station, at 3501 North Santa Anita Ave. The station also houses an M.T.A. and Foothill Transit bus station, and frequent express bus service to Downtown Los Angeles is available upstairs. The El Monte station also houses a substation of the local county sheriff. Also, from the east, the Pasadena Greyhound station, located one-quarter mile west of the Lake Avenue Metro Gold Line station, is an option.
From the south, Greyhound passengers should use the East Los Angeles station, located at 1241 South Soto Street, or the Compton Station, located at 305 North Tamarind Ave. The East Los Angeles station has many buses to downtown nearby, while the Compton station is across the street from a Metro Blue Line station.
LuxBus (http://www.luxbusamerica.com/) offers four daily trips to and from Anaheim, San Diego, and Las Vegas.
CA Shuttle Bus (http://www.cashuttlebus.com/) offers service to San Francisco and San Jose.
Hoang Express (http://www.lowfarebus.com/) offers service to the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Phoenix.
TUFESA Bus Lines (http://www.tufesa.com.mx/...) , offers bus service to/from various points in Mexico.
Crucero USA (http://www.crucero-usa.co...), offers bus service to/from various points in Mexico.