A phased construction programme to double the capacity of Washington Union Station’s passenger concourse will begin later this year, Amtrak has announced.
Amtrak has released CGI renderings showing how Washington Union Station’s concourse will look once the transformative project is complete in 2019.
The Concourse Modernization project will open up what has been described as “isolated portions” of the existing concourse, which sees 37 million passengers travel through it each year, to create a more “unified” station.
Amtrak said the redeveloped concourse will have more natural light, better accessibility and a much improved passenger experience.
Stephen Gardner, Amtrak’s executive vice-president of Northeast Corridor Business Development, said: “The advancement of this project is a significant milestone for Union Station’s 2nd Century plan.
“It will vastly improve passenger comfort and accessibility with a modern and reconfigured concourse area benefiting Amtrak, VRE and MARC passengers.
“This work and other planned improvements will transform Union Station’s capacity and performance, befitting the vital regional gateway and civic hub the Station has become since its redevelopment in 1988.”
The Washington Union Station 2nd Century plan includes a series of project’s designed to “triple passenger capacity and double train capacity over the next 20 years”.
Preliminary works, including relocating the station’s heating and ventilation systems, will start this spring, while the main construction works are expected to begin in 2017.
