A heads up to those traveling to and through Union Station on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 17: Metro and first responders will be conducting a safety exercise from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. to test the facility’s emergency preparedness. Please keep in mind that this is just a drill and none of the participating agencies have received any threats to Union Station.

The exercise will be held in Union Station’s Historic Ticketing Area and waiting room, which will be cordoned off and closed to the public.

All bus and rail lines that serve Union Station will remain in service and running on their usual schedules, including Metrolink and Amtrak. Public access to Union Station from Alameda Street will be through the South Patio — i.e., the doors near Ben & Jerry’s and the Amtrak offices.

Metro owns Union Station and the land immediately surrounding the building. As owners of the region’s transit hub, Metro and Union Station must plan for different types of emergencies, including natural disasters, terrorism, hazardous materials, transportation accidents and other situations. 

The exercise on Wednesday will allow Metro and Union Station to test their response to and recovery from an emergency situation. Among the participants will be other transit agencies, station vendors, Union Station campus tenants, the LASD and LAPD, the FBI, Union Station security staff, the FBI, the American Red Cross and other organizations.