Amtrak is set to greatly expand its control of Union Station in D.C. this summer, ushering in a new chapter for the historic transportation hub after several years of bitter discourse and legal maneuvering.
The change comes after a busy spring in which the nation’s chief rail operator posted several victories in court, starting with an April 17 ruling allowing it to seize the station’s commercial space through eminent domain.
The takeover will set the stage for Amtrak, officially known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp., to reposition the station with more emphasis on transportation and less on retail.
And it will prime the pump for an $8.8 billion expansion expected to double passenger ridership over time. That project cleared a regulatory hurdle in March, when the Federal Railroad Administration completed its final environmental impact statement.
It all amounts to a whirlwind of activity that moves the long-delayed project closer to an elusive groundbreaking as soon as 2027…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
