Union Station (Washington Metro)

Union Station
Washington Metro rapid transit station
Location	701 1st Street, NE Washington, DC 20002
Coordinates	38°53′52″N 77°00′24″W / 38.897723°N 77.006745°WCoordinates: 38°53′52″N 77°00′24″W / 38.897723°N 77.006745°W
Owned by	WMATA
Line(s)	Red Line
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Amtrak, VRE, MARC via Union Station Metrobus: 13Y, 80, 96, 97, D6, D8, X8 DC Circulator MTA Maryland Bus: 903, 922 Loudoun County Transit PRTC OmniRide
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Bicycle facilities	23 racks
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	B03
History
Opened	March 27, 1976
Previous names	Union Station–Visitor Center
Traffic
Passengers (2015)	31,186 daily [1]  3.94% (Metro)
Services
Preceding station   Washington Metro   Following station Judiciary Square toward Shady Grove Red Line NoMa – Gallaudet U toward Glenmont   Out-of-system interchange   Amtrak Terminus Acela Express BWI Airport toward Boston South Station Vermonter New Carrollton toward St. Albans Rockville toward Chicago Capitol Limited Terminus Alexandria toward Chicago Cardinal Baltimore toward New York City Alexandria toward Charlotte Carolinian Alexandria toward New Orleans Crescent Alexandria toward Miami Silver Meteor Silver Star Alexandria toward Norfolk, Newport News, or Lynchburg Northeast Regional New Carrollton toward Boston South Station or Springfield Alexandria toward Savannah Palmetto New Carrollton toward New York City MARC Silver Spring toward Martinsburg or Frederick Brunswick Line Terminus Terminus Camden Line Riverdale toward Camden Station Penn Line New Carrollton toward Perryville Virginia Railway Express L'Enfant toward Broad Run Manassas Line Terminus L'Enfant toward Spotsylvania Fredericksburg Line DC Streetcar Terminus H Street/Benning Road Line 3rd Street toward Oklahoma Avenue

Union Station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C. on the Red Line. It has a single underground island platform.

The station is located in the Northeast quadrant of the city under the western end of Union Station, the main train station for Washington, where connections can be made to Amtrak intercity trains, as well as Virginia Railway Express and MARC commuter rail trains to suburbs in Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia.

An old "Union Station-Visitor Center" sign on the station platform

The station was originally named "Union Station–Visitor Center" but when the National Visitor Center there failed, it was renamed Union Station. One or two pylons still read "Union Station-Visitor Center", and a number of older stations still display this name on signage. Like the other original stations, Union Station sports coffered vaults of concrete in its ceiling.^[2]

Service began on March 27, 1976 with the opening of the Red Line. It is the busiest station in the Metrorail system, averaging 32,745 passengers per weekday as of May 2010.^[3]

Station layout

G	Street Level	Exit/Entrance, connection to MARC, VRE, Amtrak, and DC Streetcar
M	Mezzanine	One-way faregates, ticket machines, station agent
P Platform level	Westbound	← Red Line toward Shady Grove (Judiciary Square)
	Island platform, doors will open on the left
	Eastbound	→ Red Line toward Glenmont (NoMa – Gallaudet University) →

The station features an island platform with two exits, one mid-platform leading into the main part of the station and Massachusetts Avenue and the other at the northern end emptying onto 1st Street NE and to the main boarding concourse.

Notable places nearby

• C-SPAN
• Capitol Hill
• Capitol Police Headquarters
• CNN Washington Bureau
• Columbus Circle
• Dirksen Senate Office Building
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Folger Shakespeare Library
• Georgetown University Law Center
• Gonzaga College High School
• Government Printing Office
• Hall of the States
• Hart Senate Office Building
• Heritage Foundation
• Hillsdale College's Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship
• Japanese-American Memorial
• National Guard Memorial
• National Postal Museum
• Russell Senate Office Building
• Securities and Exchange Commission
• Supreme Court of the United States
• Sursum Corda Cooperative
• Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
• Union Station
• United States Capitol
• Washington, D.C. bus terminal

References

1. "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). WMATA. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
2. Construction: Tunnels
3. "Metro Media Guide" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

External links

• WMATA: Union Station
• 1st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View