Washington D.C – Union Station’s expansion project will modernize city’s 1907-era rail station

Union Station during construction in 1907. (photo Union Station)

Washington Union Station is one of the country’s first great union railroad terminals. Designed by renowned architect, Daniel Burnham, the station opened on October 27, 1907 and was completed in April 1908.

During its heyday in the early 1940’s, Union Station was a thriving transportation hub serving up to 42,000 passengers daily. After 1945, conditions deteriorated quickly. The demand on transportation during World War II wore greatly on the station, and repairs were often done inexpensively, diminishing the station’s elegance. Public trends shifted from rail to cars and planes for long-distance travel, which further diminished rail passenger revenues, station activity and the feeling of excitement that once percolated through the building.

In the late 1950s, the station’s owners began searching for an alternative use. In 1964, the District of Columbia designated the building an historic landmark and in 1969 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places; Columbus Plaza, located in the front of the station, was listed in 1980. During the mid-1960s, the federal government took over the building for use as a new National Visitor Center. However, a lack of funding for the conversion, poor design and changing tastes made it a failure soon after it opened in 1976. Union Station’s low point came in 1981 when a driving rain sent pieces of the ceiling, already damaged by a leaky roof, crashing down into the main waiting room. Most of the building had to be closed, which disrupted travel for the growing number of Amtrak passengers.

In 1981, Congress passed the Union Station Redevelopment Act. It stated that, “the Secretary of Transportation shall provide for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Union Station complex primarily as a multiple-use transportation terminal serving the Nation’s Capital, and secondarily as a commercial complex, in accordance with the following goals:

1. Preservation of the exterior façade and other historically and architecturally significant features of the Union Station building;
2. Restoration and operation of a portion of the historic Union Station building as a rail passenger station, together with hold facilities for charter, transit, and intercity buses in the Union Station complex;
3. Commercial development of the Union Station complex that will, to the extent possible, financially support the continued operation and maintenance of such complex; and
4. Withdrawal by the Federal Government from any active role in the operation and management of the Union Station complex as soon as practical and at the least possible Federal expense consistent with goals set forth in subsections (a) through (c) of this section.

Washington Union Station is the nation’s train station. One mile from the U.S. Capitol building, it serves as a gateway to the Nation’s capital, is the rail backbone that connects northern and southern rail lines along the East Coast, and connects commuters and visitors within our region. Whereas other train stations are owned and operated by state DOTs, transit authorities, or other local government entities, Washington Union Station is the only federally-owned rail station in the entire country. Union Station requires federal support to modernize critical infrastructure that hasn’t been touched since Daniel Burnham’s station was originally constructed in 1907.

Not only will the expansion double the station’s capacity for Amtrak and commuter rail service, it will deliver fiscal benefits, job opportunities, and enhanced mobility through transportation capacity and facility improvements. By enhancing the station’s role as a high-capacity multimodal transit center, the station expansion project will have a significant influence in allowing the region to achieve goals related to growth, efficiency, and competitiveness, as well as critical climate-related goals. Lastly, the station expansion also will have a major influence on the successful development of privately-held air-rights over the Union Station rail yard which will deliver substantial economic, housing, open space, and connectivity benefits to an area of the city that has historically served as a major barrier.

This year the Federal Railroad Administration, in collaboration with Amtrak and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, will unveil the ten year, $10.7B Washington Union Station Expansion Project (SEP) to modernize facilities and create a world class multi-modal transit hub. The SEP will:

• Reconstruct more than 25 acres of tracks and platforms;
• Double ridership capacity and address decades of backlog in maintenance;
• Address critical ADA, life safety and security deficiencies;
• Create new rail and bus concourses, train hall, pick-up/ drop-off facilities, dedicated bicyclist + pedestrian facilities;
• Connect the super-region, eliminate critical bottleneck for passenger and freight and unlock the ROI of rail investments across region and NEC;
• Deliver 67,000 construction jobs over the 10 year life of the project;
• Increase access to jobs, education, affordable housing;
• Expand clean, urban public transportation;
• Reduce vehicle miles traveled, regional congestion, and carbon emissions.

• Though the Washington Union Station Expansion Project has the full support of Congresswoman Norton, the regional delegation, Mayor Bowser, Chairman Mendelson, and key District stakeholders, funding is far from guaranteed.
• Union Station’s status as a federally owned asset, combined with the fact that the station expansion project is a federally-led project presents both a challenge and opportunity for this project becoming a reality.
• The American Jobs Plan and the Biden Administration’s stated commitment to rail infrastructure investment presents a once in a generation opportunity to realize the boldest rail vision project in the nation.
• With the Project nearing the end of the 6 year environmental review process in 2021, and with historic federal infrastructure and transportation investment on the horizon for FY 22, time is now for the next century of Union Station, the Nation’s train station.