WASHINGTON – A DC main transit hub is the White House’s next stop on its mission to take control of the nation’s capital.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Aug. 27 his agency will put Washington Union Station “back under” federal authority as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to reduce crime and clean up the city.
The move is yet another expansion of the president’s power over DC, which has long ruled itself.
Here’s what to know about the federal takeover of Union Station:
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Why the takeover?
Duffy said the federal government wants to make Union Station “beautiful again.”
At a press conference to announce the new Acela high speed Amtrak trains, Duffy described the train station as “neglected” and in need of a makeover. He said the federal takeover will aim to clean it up and bring in new business.
“We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, we don’t have homelessness in Union Station,” he said.
“We think that we can manage the property better,” Duffy said, adding that federal control will bring in more tenants and revenue.
Who runs Union Station? It’s complicated.
Union Station’s governance structure is complex, but it includes a combination of the federal government, private and nonprofit organizations.
The Department of Transportation – specifically, the Federal Railroad Administration, which is housed within DOT – owns the hub. It’s leased by a nonprofit called the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation.
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Amtrak, which provides intercity passenger rail service across the United States, works with USRC to oversee the property and is “responsible for the day-to-day management and operations,” according to the company. In the summer of 2024, a judge allowed Amtrak to take greater control of the station through eminent domain.
The Transportation Department said Aug. 27 that it is renegotiating a cooperative agreement with USRC and Amtrak. The agency says it will announce a “formal action” confirming its renewed control of the station in September.
Union Station: 70,000 passengers per day
Union Station is the second-busiest hub in Amtrak’s national network, with an annual ridership of 5.6 million passengers. Approximately 70,000 people pass through Union Station each day, the company says.
The station also connects rail service with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority subway and regional bus lines and commuter rail lines to Maryland and Virginia.
‘It’s very clean’
Michael Curtin, 25, said he enjoys traveling through Union Station and has never felt unsafe.
“It has beautiful architecture,” he said, noting the building’s barrel-vaulted ceiling and dozens of Romanesque statues. “I think it’s very clean.”
Antonio Cruz, 58, said Union Station hasn’t changed over the last 20 years and he’d like to see some renovations — especially in the bathrooms.
“I think it could use a makeover,” said Cruz, who travels to the capital a few times a year from New York City.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about Trump’s DC Union Station takeover
