WASHINGTON – A major construction project that will increase rail capacity is underway at Washington Union Station, the second busiest terminal in the U.S. The project is among other improvements to upgrade and enhance the customer experience at the historic transportation hub.
Skanska USA Civil Northeast was awarded the Track 22 Reconstruction Project at Washington Union Station. Under the contract, Skanska will rebuild the lower level platform, rehab and restore the historic columns, and construct a new covered walkway to provide customer access to the platform via a new elevator, escalator and stairs to the station. The track was previously used as a storage track for equipment with no access for customers.
“Washington Union Station is integral to the national rail network. This project will allow Amtrak to construct a new revenue track and increase capacity to meet the growing demand for rail services.”
David Handera, Amtrak vice president of Stations, Facilities, Properties and Accessibility
Amtrak received a $19 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to fund a portion of the construction project that will increase track capacity for revenue trains for Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express (VRE).
Amtrak and VRE revenue service to Track 22 is anticipated to begin in 2022.
Posted June 26, 2020
Amtrak established the Great American Stations Project in 2006 to educate communities on the benefits of redeveloping train stations, offer tools to community leaders to preserve their stations, and provide the appropriate Amtrak resources.
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