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Los Angeles Union Station (LAUS) is the main railway station in Los Angeles, California and the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Union Station > History )〕 It opened in May 1939 as the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, replacing La Grande Station and Central Station. Approved in a controversial ballot measure in 1926 and built in the 1930s, it served to consolidate rail services from a number of railroads (the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific) into one terminal station. Conceived on a grand scale, Union Station became known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations" built in the United States. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Today, the station is a major transportation hub for Southern California, serving almost 110,000 passengers a day.〔http://thesource.metro.net/2014/10/23/metro-board-approves-union-station-master-plan-allowing-near-term-projects-to-go-forward/〕 Three of Amtrak's long distance trains originate and terminate here: the ''Coast Starlight'' to Seattle, the ''Southwest Chief'' to Chicago, and the ''Sunset Limited'' to New Orleans. The state-supported Amtrak California ''Pacific Surfliner'' regional trains run frequently to San Diego and also to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. The station is the hub of the Metrolink commuter trains, and several Metro Rail subway and light rail lines serve it as well, with more in construction or planning. The Patsaouras Transit Plaza on the east side of the station serves dozens of bus lines operated by Metro and several other municipal carriers.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Los Angeles Union Station Master Plan )〕 == History == In 1926, a measure was placed on the ballot giving Los Angeles voters the choice between the construction of a vast network of elevated railways or the construction of a much smaller Union Station to consolidate different railroad terminals. The election would take on racial connotations and become a defining moment in the development of Los Angeles. The proposed Union Station was located in the heart of what was Los Angeles' original Chinatown. Reflecting the prejudice of the era, the anti-railroad Los Angeles Times, a lead opponent of elevated railways, argued in editorials that Union Station would not be built in the “midst of Chinatown” but rather would “forever do away with Chinatown and its environs.” Two questions were put to vote in 1926. First, the voters approved Union Station instead of elevated railways by 61.3 to 38.7 percent margin. Second, the electorate voted in favor of the Los Angeles Plaza as the site of the new station but by a much smaller 51.1 to 48.9 percent margin. Union Station would eventually be built across the street from the Plaza in Chinatown, largely due to the efforts of Preservationist Christine Sterling and Los Angeles Times Publisher Harry Chandler to preserve the Plaza neighborhood. The glamorous new station took over from La Grande Station which had suffered major damage in the 1933 Long Beach earthquake and Central Station, which had itself replaced the Arcade Depot in 1914. Passenger service was provided by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, Southern Pacific Railroad, and Union Pacific Railroad, as well as the Pacific Electric Railway and Los Angeles Railway (LARy). The famed ''Super Chief'' luxury train carried Hollywood stars and others to Chicago and thence the East Coast. Union Station saw heavy use during World War II, but later saw declining patronage due to the growing popularity of air travel and automobiles. The station was designated as a Los Angeles Historic–Cultural Monument No. 101 on August 2, 1972 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. 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. The service faced economic and political problems from the start and was suspended in March 1983. The next attempt at commuter rail came in 1990 with the launch of the Amtrak-operated ''Orange County Commuter''. The once-daily round-trip served stations between Los Angeles and San Juan Capistrano. Metrolink commuter rail service began on October 26, 1992, with Union Station as the terminus for the San Bernardino Line, the Santa Clarita Line (later renamed the Antelope Valley Line) and the Ventura County Line. In January 1993, Metro's Red Line subway began service to the station, followed by Metrolink's Riverside Line in June. The ''Orange County Commuter'' train was discontinued on March 28, 1994 and replaced by Metrolink's Orange County Line. In May 2002, Metrolink added additional service to stations in Orange and Riverside counties with the opening of the Via Fullerton Line (later renamed the 91 Line). 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. The line was expanded south over US 101 in November 2009 with the opening of the Gold Line Eastside Extension. 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. The deal was closed on 14 April 2011. Since taking over ownership of the station, Metro has focused on increasing services for passengers at the station. One of the most noticeable changes is the addition of several retail and dining businesses to the concourse. Amtrak opened a Metropolitan Lounge at Union Station on September 23, 2013.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amtrak-guest-rewards/1503590-los-angeles-metropolitan-lounge-opening-next-monday-9-23-a.html )〕 The lounge is open to Amtrak passengers traveling in sleeping car accommodations or business class as well as some Amtrak Guest Rewards members (Select Plus and Select Executive levels only).〔http://www.amtrak.com/station-lounges〕 The lounge features a staffed ticket counter, complimentary refreshments, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a conference room. Passengers using the Metropolitan Lounge receive priority boarding. Metro plans to install Bluetooth beacons in Union Station to enable sending text messages to travelers' smartphones. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Union Station (Los Angeles)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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