Amtrak completes upgrades at main D.C. station

Amtrak recently completed a new track and platform at Washington Union Station in the District of Columbia to boost service capacity and improve the overall rider experience.  

Prior to the project, Track 22 in the lower level of the 118-year-old station served as a storage track with no customer access. The project involved installing new tracks in that area, rebuilding the platform and rehabbing historic columns.  

The new track primarily will be used by Virginia Railway Express trains, along with Amtrak’s long-distance and Amtrak Virginia trains. 

“As [our] ridership continues to break records, this investment is key to easing rail congestion and improving service reliability at Amtrak’s second-busiest station, along the Northeast Corridor and into Virginia,” said Amtrak President Roger Harris in a press release. 

Since Amtrak assumed new responsibilities for day-to-day management and operations of Washington Union Station slightly over a year ago, the railroad has advanced several investments to revitalize and improve operations, such as adding a new ticketed waiting area, modifying the boarding process, advancing state-of-good-repair initiatives and introducing retail options.