WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is planning to take over the management of D.C.’s Union Station, the travel hub for Amtrak and the city’s metro lines, the Transportation Department announced Wednesday morning.
The announcement from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy comes just over a year after Amtrak took over management and operations of the station.
“Instead of being a point of pride, Washington’s Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Duffy said in a statement. “By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”
The Transportation Department said in Wednesday’s news release that the efforts were part of a broader initiative, echoing the President Donald Trump’s March executive order laying out efforts to fight crime and promote “beautification” in the capital.
The planned takeover comes as the White House has enacted sweeping efforts to reshape the law enforcement presence in the district by surging in federal agents and the National Guard, a move that has drawn mixed reactions from residents, with many expressing anger and others voicing support.
During a news event ahead of the launch of a new high-speed train, Duffy said the Department aimed to make “investments to make sure that this station isn’t dirty, that we don’t have homelessness in Union Station. We want a place where businesses want to obtain leases.”
“Not a power play, we’ve always had it,” he added later, referring to the federal government’s ownership of the building. “But we think that we can manage the property better, bring in more tenants, bring in more revenue.”
The Transportation Department said the station needs “improvements to elevators, lighting, and security along with enhancements to the passenger experience and replacing the roof and other major systems.”
