Union Station (Washington Metro)
![]() A Red Line train leaving the station | |||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||
Location | 701 1st Street, NE, Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||
Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||
Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
Connections | ![]() at Union Station ![]() at Union Station ![]() ![]() Georgetown–Union Station Congress Heights – Union Station National Mall ![]() ![]() ![]() | ||||||||||
Construction | |||||||||||
Structure type | Underground | ||||||||||
Bicycle facilities | Capital Bikeshare and 23 racks | ||||||||||
Disabled access | Yes | ||||||||||
Other information | |||||||||||
Station code | B03 | ||||||||||
History | |||||||||||
Opened | March 27, 1976 | ||||||||||
Previous names | Union Station–Visitor Center | ||||||||||
Passengers | |||||||||||
2022 | 7,315 daily[1] | ||||||||||
Rank | 3rd | ||||||||||
Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Location | |||||||||||
![]() |
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.
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.
Service began on March 27, 1976 with the opening of the Red Line. It is the busiest station in the Metrorail system, averaging 29,197 passengers per weekday as of May 2017.[2]
Discover more about Union Station (Washington Metro) related topics
History
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.
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 the brutalist cavern, while other riders liked the brightened stations and cleaner feels that resulted from the white paint.[3]
Between January 15 to January 21, 2021, this station was closed because of security concerns due to the 2020 Inauguration.[4]
Future improvements
The street-level entrance on First street, built into the existing retaining wall, will be rebuilt to ADA-compliant standards, adding more space for extra fare gates and connections between the platform and track level.[5]
Station layout
Like the other original stations of the Metro, Union Station sports coffered vaults of concrete in its ceiling.[6] One end of the station has a lowered "box" cut out of the ceiling. The station features an island platform with two exits, one mid-platform mezzanine leading to the main hall of Union Station and Massachusetts Avenue and the one northern exit leading to 1st Street NE and to the main boarding concourse.
G | Street level | Exit/entrance, buses, rail connections at Union Station |
P Platform level |
Westbound | ← ![]() |
Island platform | ||
Eastbound | ![]() |
Discover more about Station layout related topics
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
- 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 Museum
- National Postal Museum
- Russell Senate Office Building
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Stanton Park
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Sursum Corda Cooperative
- Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
- Union Station
- United States Capitol
- Washington, D.C. bus terminal
Discover more about Notable places nearby related topics
Source: "Union Station (Washington Metro)", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 9th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Station_(Washington_Metro).
Further Reading

Washington Metro

Metro Center station

Foggy Bottom–GWU station

Red Line (Washington Metro)

Yellow Line (Washington Metro)

Farragut North station

Dupont Circle station

Bethesda station

Gallery Place station

Crystal City station (Washington Metro)

Clarendon station

Court House station

Rosslyn station

Farragut West station

Federal Triangle station

Franconia–Springfield station

Capitol South station

College Park–University of Maryland station
References
- ^ "Rail Ridership Data Viewer". WMATA. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
- ^ "Metrorail Average Weekday Passenger Boardings" (PDF). Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. May 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- ^ "Metro decision to paint Union Station vault rubs some the wrong way". Washington Post. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
- ^ "Metro announces Inauguration service plans, station closures | WMATA". www.wmata.com. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
- ^ Repetski, Stephen (July 11, 2017). "The Union Station Metro entrance on First Street is getting a makeover". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ Construction: Tunnels
External links

Categories
- 1976 establishments in Washington, D.C.
- Articles with short description
- Capitol Hill
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- Coordinates on Wikidata
- Near Northeast (Washington, D.C.)
- Railway stations in the United States opened in 1976
- Railway stations located underground in Washington, D.C.
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Stations on the Red Line (Washington Metro)
- Use mdy dates from March 2018
- Washington Metro stations in Washington, D.C.
- Washington Metro stations located underground
The content of this page is based on the Wikipedia article written by contributors..
The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence & the media files are available under their respective licenses; additional terms may apply.
By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy.
Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization & is not affiliated to WikiZ.com.