After a brief delay, Metro is slated to take a small, but key step toward the long-proposed expansion and renovation of Los Angeles Union Station.

Contractor ERM, Inc. has been given the go-ahead to begin demolishing a vacant storage building located at 801 E. Commercial Street, just south of the US-101 Freeway in Downtown Los Angeles. The building lies within the path of the new run-through tracks which would span from the south side of the station and across the adjacent freeway.

Before-and-after view of the US-101 Freeway with and without Link Union Station run-through tracksMetro

 The overhaul of Union Station, branded as Link US, is expected to cost approximately $2 billion to complete, and far outstrips the roughly $1 billion which Metro has raised for construction. Value engineering has ensued to help close the gap, with Metro looking to reduce the number of station platforms with access to the new run-through tracks from seven to four, and the total number of tracks crossing the freeway from four to two.

Link US also includes plans to raise the rail yard itself to provide clearance over the freeway, while also expanding the existing passageway which connects the east and west sides of the station into a larger passenger concourse.

Storage building to be demolishedMetro

Previous staff presentations have indicated that some utility relocation has already commenced along the project's route, and is expected to continue through Summer 2025. Metro previously announced that it expected that heavy construction of Link US could begin as early as mid-2026, following environmental clearances.

The run-through tracks are set to play a key role in California's high-speed rail system, should it ever make it to Southern California. Current plans call for a route running south from Burbank into Union Station, then exiting via the run-through tracks toward a terminus in Anaheim. Likewise, the tracks would allow Metrolink to provide through-routing at Union Station, potentially enabling an "S-Bahn" style service between Burbank and Norwalk.

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