The train "ran over the man but didn't touch him, thank God," LA Metro spokesman Paul Gonzales said. "In my view this is a miraculous occurrence. The man is exceedingly lucky to be alive."
The 47-year-old Los Angeles man fell from the platform at the Wilshire and Vermont station in the city's Koreatown neighbourhood as a Red Line train was approaching.
The man, whose identity was not released, had "no obvious injuries" and was not touched by the train, but he was taken to a hospital as a precaution, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Katherine Main said.
This is at least the third time since September 2012 that a train on the Red Line has passed over a person. In the other two instances, the people were seriously injured.