This plan represents a transformative effort to reintegrate Union Station into the District’s rich cultural and economic fabric. At the local level, Mayor Bowser has identified Union Station as her top infrastructure priority. The City has already demonstrated its commitment to the expansion project through its $200M+ investment in the reconstruction of H Street Bridge, a project that is essential for the subsequent track reconfiguration of the $10.5B USEP. The H Street bridge is an essential connection bringing residents who live east of the Anacostia River to jobs via the DC Streetcar and Metro bus lines.
The District has also made significant investments in workforce development and in building a talent pipeline through programs like the DC Infrastructure Academy. This type of foresight will ensure that District residents and local community members directly benefit from the 67,000 construction jobs created over the 10-year construction of this project.
Creating a world-class multimodal transportation hub that provides equitable access to the District, region, and beyond is at the center of the SEP. Union Station, as it exists today, is not fully accessible. The station’s current train platforms are 40 percent narrower than the global standard and provide access from only one location. As a result, the platforms are not compliant with ADA or emergency egress standards and pose safety risks due to overcrowding, and do not meet current fire and life safety standards.
The SEP will not only widen and lengthen the rail platforms and make all facilities the Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, it will also shorten commute times. When commuting costs less in terms of time, it increases people’s odds of escaping poverty.
The new project vision’s surface transit and urban design elements prioritize safety for the most vulnerable users moving to, through, and around Union Station. By decreasing vehicular activity at the station’s edges, people with disabilities and limited mobility, pedestrians and cyclists will all benefit.
The SEP is planned to create over 67,000 good paying jobs to residents in the region. Additionally, the project will enable the development of the air space above the rail yard, transforming what is today an oversized, underutilized parking garage into three million square feet of mixed-use space that seamlessly connects to the neighborhoods behind, and around it. Together, the SEP and Burnham Place will deliver unmatched economic, housing, and community benefits to residents of the District and greater Washington region.
The construction of Union Station also catalyzed investment in its surrounding areas and transformed adjacent neighborhoods vibrant cultural and economic hubs. Newfound transit connections provided by Union Station encouraged the construction of product facilities across the printing, meatpacking, coal, and ice production industries. Bolstered industrial production and job growth paved the way for sports and entertainment facilities that would help establish the District as a cultural powerhouse. (NoMa Neighborhood History | NoMa BID)
“Union Station is essential to Maryland and Virginia’s economies, as thousands of Maryland and Virginia residents work in the District and rely on Union Station’s multimodal facilities every week. Nearly 50 percent of the Capital Region’s commuters wake up in one jurisdiction and go to work in another, and 20 percent cross a state border.
Our region’s residents demand easy and safe multimodal connections that tie the region together. The Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) and the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) services are projected to experience 151% and 249% passenger volume growth by 2040, respectively, and exceed Union Station’s current ridership capacity. The expansion will enable one-seat connections for residents to cross between Virginia and Maryland, and back again.
Without any improvement, Union Station will remain the region’s biggest chokepoint and it will constrain the return on more recent and significant regional and interjurisdictional infrastructure investments for transit improvements, such as the Frederick Douglass Tunnel and Long Bridge. A failure to upgrade Union Station’s infrastructure will result in severe consequences for the regional workforce and local business productivity.”
– Charles Allen, Ward 6 Council Member
The Union Station Expansion Project (SEP) will help the city, region, and nation achieve its climate goals through replacing aging infrastructure and increasing rail capacity. Right now, Union Station is the region’s biggest rail-based chokepoint due to the station’s outdated rail yards and platforms and undersized concourses and multimodal facilities. The USEP will increase the Station’s efficiency, alleviate congestion, allow for increased ridership, and ultimately reduce the number of cars on the roads throughout the region.
The modernization and expansion of Union Station’s rail infrastructure plays a key role in achieving the region’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, in 2020, 38 percent of the region’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions came from transportation. 31 percent of GHG emissions came from vehicles and less than 1 percent from passenger rail. On the electrified Northeast Corridor, Amtrak travel emits up to 83% less greenhouse gas emissions compared to car travel and up to 72% less greenhouse gas emissions than flying.
Through increasing the station’s rail capacity, improving passing experiencing, and enhancing the connections for bus, bike, and pedestrians, the SEP will provide an attractive alternative to driving. As a result, the project will alleviate congestion on the region’s roadways and reduce GHG emissions. Compared to other modes of transportation, passenger rail emits the least amount of GHG.
As the negative impacts of climate change increase, it is vital that our transportation network can withstand extreme weather events. The new project vision would ensure that the infrastructure at Union Station is climate resilient. Increased capacity to accommodate energy efficient trains with overall positive environmental impacts will grow as train equipment becomes more efficient and uses cleaner sources of fuel.
– ANC 6C
Investing in a renovated and expanded Nation’s Station will make transportation safer for all. The current station has significant ADA access constraints and poses a number of obstacles to equitable access to train platforms, metro, shopping and other aspects of Union Station. Without significant changes, there will continue to be a compromised experience for users because of a lengthy backlog of deferred maintenance and issues related to the older design.
The majority of infrastructure at the station has not been updated in decades, some dating back more than 50 years. The current station design does not adequately account for modern safety practices that would otherwise make the station more secure. Under a new Nation’s Station, the latest and most effective security practices could be implemented in order to minimize risks to passengers, visitors and workers alike.
– NoMa BID
