• The Trump administration is reclaiming management of Washington, D.C.’s Union Station amid a wider federal crackdown on crime.
• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the move will help restore safety and beauty to the capital’s transit hub.
• The Department of Transportation expects to resume full control in September, reinvesting revenue into security and infrastructure upgrades.

WASHINGTON, D.C., TDR — The Department of Transportation will reclaim direct management of Union Station, a key hub in the nation’s capital, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday. The move comes as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-crime crackdown across Washington.

A Federal Reclamation

Though the Department of Transportation has owned Union Station since the 1980s, its control has been diluted through long-term leases and agreements. Duffy said those arrangements left the transit hub vulnerable to disrepair and crime. “Instead of being a point of pride, Union Station has fallen into disrepair,” Duffy said. “By reclaiming management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost.”

The announcement was paired with the launch of new Acela trainsets, which officials say will improve reliability and affordability while boosting Amtrak’s profitability.

A Hub of Crime Crackdown

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Union Station, where roughly 70,000 passengers pass daily, has become central to the administration’s crime and homelessness crackdown. Federal officials have stationed National Guard units inside the station, underscoring its symbolic and practical importance. Just last week, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Guard members deployed there.

The station’s challenges mirror broader public-safety concerns across D.C., where officials cite persistent homelessness and a surge in violent crime as reasons for the federal presence.

Investment in Security and Infrastructure

The Transportation Department confirmed it will reinvest station income — including parking revenue — into capital improvements such as upgraded security, modernized lighting, and new elevators. Negotiations are underway with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and Amtrak to finalize renewed federal control, expected by September.

Duffy emphasized that restoring Union Station is about more than infrastructure. It is, he said, a declaration of intent that federal authority will bring both accountability and pride back to one of the nation’s busiest transit corridors.

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Is Union Station’s reclamation the first step in reshaping Washington’s public spaces under federal control?

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