Union Station gets $466M federal grant for renovations
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at a recent unveiling of the Freedom 250 Amtrak Acela train. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Trump administration will spend $466 million to upgrade Union Station, including bigger concourses and facility fixes.
Why it matters: Amid Trump's beautification push across D.C. landmarks and parks, the Union Station overhaul may become one of the most consequential projects, given the train hall's role as the city's front door.
The big picture: Union Station is looking nicer these days, bit by bit — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's announcement Thursday came in front of the restored Columbus Circle fountain. Another pending project would add nighttime facade lighting.
- Yet unknown: Where the station's ambitious multibillion-dollar modernization project stands and whether the Trump admin will get onboard.
Driving the news: The feds promise near-term improvements to cleanliness and increased security, plus:
- Upgrading the Amtrak lounge, passenger waiting area and "ticketing experience."
- Repairing an aging roof, parking garage and other interior zones.
- Touching up the "passenger concourse and customer experience," although details weren't available.
- And then there are plans for "family friendly infrastructure," which mirrors language from a recent campaign at airports to add things like kids play areas and nursing pods.
What they're saying: Teasing "more updates" to come, Duffy said the "special project" aims to make Union Station a "world-class transit hub."
Between the lines: The grant will also go toward helping the station raise more revenue through retail, parking, office spaces and digital signage.
- To shore up its finances, Union Station leans more and more on opportunities such as renting the concourse for galas and events.
What we're watching: The long-term modernization of Union Station, which includes plans to triple passenger capacity and become a high-speed rail hub.
- Led by the Union Station Redevelopment Corp. (USRC), the megaproject tried to gain traction post-pandemic, hiring Doug Carr, a key official who helped build New York's Moynihan Train Hall.
- In Thursday's announcement, Duffy's Transportation Department slammed the Biden administration's "boondoggle plan to pour over $10 billion" into a "far-fetched expansion."
- Carr, the USRC's CEO, still advocates for the project, which, by his last estimates, would've cost about $8.8 billion over 13 years.
"This new funding enables us to invest in the critical ongoing near-term improvements that enhance the existing station experience for millions of travelers, while simultaneously laying the foundation for the future Station Expansion Project," Carr said in a press release put out by the Transportation Department.