Union Station
A Shady Grove-bound Red Line train servicing the station in December 2018
General information
Location	701 1st Street NE Washington, D.C.
Coordinates	38°53′52″N77°00′24″W / 38.897723°N 77.006745°W /38.897723; -77.006745
Owned by	Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
Platforms	1island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Amtrak,MARC,VRE atUnion Station DC Streetcar atUnion Station Metrobus: C43,C51, C55,C71,D20, D24,D2X,D30,D80 Loudoun County Transit MTA Maryland Bus: 903, 922 PRTC OmniRide
Construction
Structure type	Underground
Bicycle facilities	Capital Bikeshare, 23 racks
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	B03
History
Opened	March 27, 1976 (1976-03-27)
Previous names	Union Station–Visitor Center (until January 21, 1982)[1]
Passengers
2024	12,202 daily[2]
Rank	1 out of 98
Services
Preceding station Washington Metro Following station Judiciary Square towardShady Grove Red Line NoMa–Gallaudet U towardGlenmont
Former services Preceding station Washington Metro Following station Judiciary Square towardFarragut North Green Line Commuter Shortcut Rhode Island Avenue towardGreenbelt
Route map NoMa–Gallaudet U Judiciary Square
Location

Union Station is aWashington Metrostation inWashington, D.C., on theRed Line. The station is located in theNortheast quadrant of the city under the western end ofWashington Union Station, the main train station for Washington. With a daily average of 12,202 tapped entries in 2024, it was the busiest station in the system.

Like the other original stations of the Metro, Union Station sportscoffered vaults of concrete in its ceiling.^[3] One end of the station has a lowered "box" cut out of the ceiling. The station features anisland platform with two exits, one mid-platform mezzanine leading to the main hall of Union Station andMassachusetts Avenue and the one northern exit leading to 1st Street NE and to the main boarding concourse. The station features escalators with the elevator between them as seen atAddison Road andNorth Bethesda between the mezzanine and platform.

After groundbreaking in 1969, the station opened as Union Station-Visitor Center (National Visitor Center) on March 27, 1976, with the rest of the Red Line. It was renamed to simply "Union Station" in 1982 following the closure of theNational Visitor Center.^[4]

Union Station had dirtier walls than most stations as trains brought in soot from diesel engines in Union Station, resulting in a dimmer station. In March 2017, it was announced the station would be painted white at a cost of $75,000–$100,000. This sparked a debate amongst riders, as preservationists did not like the irrevocable act of painting thebrutalist cavern, while other riders liked the brightened stations and cleaner feels that resulted from the white paint.^[5]

Between January 15 to January 21, 2021, the station was closed because of security concerns due to the2020 Inauguration.^[6]

The street-level entrance on First Street, built into the existing retaining wall, was rebuilt to accessible-compliant standards, adding more space for extra fare gates and connections between the platform and track level.^[7] During initial construction of the station, a 600-foot (180-meter) pedestrian tunnel was constructed between the north mezzanine and H Street NE. However, prior to the station's opening, the tunnel was boarded up and the space is now used by WMATA to store equipment.^[8] There have been plans to incorporate the abandoned tunnel into future station planned improvements.

Media related toUnion Station (WMATA station) at Wikimedia Commons

• WMATA Union Station page

• 1st Street entrance from Google Maps Street View

• Stations on the Red Line (Washington Metro)
• Washington Metro stations in Washington, D.C.
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1976
• 1976 establishments in Washington, D.C.
• Capitol Hill
• Railway stations located underground in Washington, D.C.
• Near Northeast (Washington, D.C.)

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