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Published : 28 Aug 2025, 12:03 AM
The Transportation Department plans to reclaim management of Washington Union Station, one of the country's biggest rail hubs, President Donald Trump's latest move to give the federal government more of a role running what he portrays as a run-down capital city.
"We think we can manage the property better," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. "We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn't dirty and we don't have homelessness in Union Station."
The plan to reclaim Union Station follows Trump's move this month to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington after he took control of the local police department over the objections of local leaders.
In March, the White House forced the CEO of US passenger railroad company Amtrak, Stephen Gardner, to step down following orders by Trump.
Duffy said the plan for Union Station was not a "power play" but to attract new tenants and revenue to overhaul the station, adding that formal action confirming his department's renewed control of Union Station was expected next month.
The majestic Beaux-Arts style station, which opened in 1907, is owned by the federal government but has been run by a non-profit corporation working with Amtrak.
The station has billions of dollars of spending pending in long-delayed maintenance, tracks, parking and other needs. It also has faced homeless and crime issues including a murder in February in a Union Station parking garage.
National Guard troops have guarded sites in Washington since mid-August including Union Station, and Vice President JD Vance visited soldiers at the station last week.
President Joe Biden's administration awarded the station a $24 million grant in November. Deputy Transportation Secretary Steve Bradbury said a $10 billion planned redevelopment of Union Station announced during the Biden administration would be scrapped and a new plan will be adopted.
Duffy said the department was renegotiating a cooperative agreement with the non-profit Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, which controls the station, and Amtrak.
Amtrak inaugurated new high-speed Acela trains on Wednesday on the Northeast Corridor that links Boston to Washington, the busiest US rail route with 800,000 daily trips in a region representing 20% of the U.S. economy.
The new trains can run at speeds up to 160 mph (260 kph), 10 mph faster than the current trains, but they will initially only be able to run at that faster speed on a very limited portion of track until additional works are undertaken.
In April, the Transportation Department said it would withdraw the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from leading the Penn Station Reconstruction project in New York City. Instead, Amtrak, backed by the department, will oversee the project in midtown Manhattan.
During his first term, Trump repeatedly sought to cut funding to Amtrak, which received about $2.4 billion in annual federal support in 2023. Congress in March approved $2.42 billion for Amtrak through September 30 in annual funding.
Duffy said on Wednesday that the department supports "appropriate" funding for Amtrak, which set a new passenger record last year.
