Los Angeles is known for its traffic jams, large freeways and dependence on cars; it might seem like a festival about trains wouldn’t be all that popular. This weekend, however, families, tourists and public transit enthusiasts alike flocked to Union Station’s Train Festival in Downtown L.A., proving that Angelenos’ love for public transport is stronger than ever.

Union Station, the city’s main and largest railroad station, organized and hosted the free-to-attend event on Sept. 20 and 21. Railroad equipment tours, model train exhibits and public transit information booths were the heart of the event.

Attendees enjoyed free customizable conductor’s hats, food and live music. Merch stores selling public transit-themed t-shirts, plushies and accessories were also very popular, with items selling out.

Metro Art partnered with Leaving Records to bring an entire lineup of live artists to the festival, including Axon Orkestra, Sharada Shashidhar and Jesse Justice, among others. These artists brought a variety of music techniques and styles to the festival audience.

Axon Orkestra, for example, merged traditional and modern global music styles from Western Asia, Africa and Europe with techniques on the violin, guitar and bass, creating a unique performance for attendees.

Booths and stations passed out freebies such as paper train models, tote bags, commemorative TAP cards and stickers. In particular, the event rewarded limited-edition posters and pins to those who got stamps from four distinct areas at the festival on an “Experience Pass” pamphlet.

Attendees fittingly traveled to the event using public transportation. Ridership was encouraged by the fact that the Metro was free to use the entire weekend in celebration of the new A-Line extension to Pomona, which completed the first part of phase 2B of the Metro Foothill Extension project.

“We’re big fans of public transit, and we wish more people would take public transit, and that there’d be more public transit options in Los Angeles. And we love trains,” said Jake Levine, a project manager, attending with his 4-year-old son Julian.

The festival hosted a diverse range of engineering and kid-friendly art exhibits, allowing for enjoyment across several generations of attendees. Despite long lines and wait times, praise for the event was high.

“My son loved it. I’m glad I came out, and this is a wonderful event. We’re looking forward to coming back next year,” said Kareena Wooder, a cafeteria worker who attended with her son Cairo.

Overall turnout was extremely high: Nearly all event attractions were hit by long lines and large crowds. Charity Greenwalt, who was returning to the event after eight years, noted an uptick in attendance for 2025.

“It’s definitely a lot more crowded, and they have a lot more that you can do,” Greenwalt said.

The railroad equipment tours were a particularly popular attraction. Their line nearly spanned the entire course of the station at one point. Model train exhibits were also very popular, especially with younger attendees of all kinds, as both 4-year-old Julian Levine and East Los Angeles College freshman Sophie Martinez listed the model trains as a highlight of the event.

Information booths, including Amtrak-operated San Joaquins, LA Metro and California High Speed Rail, brought information about rail systems to the event, as well as free giveaways.
Wooder said events like these are important “so the community can really get to know what they’re doing here, where our money is being spent, and how we can benefit from it.”

Attendees received high-speed rail “boarding passes” for 2033 from the booth, promising possible ridership by then.

Martinez said she still hopes for the implementation of high-speed rail in California despite slow progress.

“I think high-speed rail would be awesome for Central Valley, California,” Martinez said. “It cost a lot of taxpayer money. … It’s billions of dollars already in this. … Why hasn’t this been built?”

The event showed Los Angeles’ strong love for trains and public transportation, while also educating attendees on how they could benefit from patronizing the resources around them.

“It’s beneficial to know that there are ways to travel that are not [cars], and be comfortable with those ways of travel,” Greenwalt said. “My oldest is in college. His vehicle currently doesn’t work, so he’s taking the bus, which is not something that we generally do as a family. … There are ways we can get places when stuff happens.”