Work is underway on a project to dust off an old Union Station platform and make it a new passenger platform to increase rail capacity.
Skanska USA Civil Northeast has been awarded a contract to reconstruct Track 22 at Union Station.
Amtrak is using a $19 million grant from the Federal Railroad Administration to fund a portion of the project to convert the idle track into a lower-level passenger platform.
Track 22 current serves as a storage track for equipment with no access for customers.
The project will involve installing new track, rebuilding the platform and restoring historic columns on Union Station’s lower level.
A new elevator, escalator stairs and customer covered walkway will be added as part of the project.
“Washington Union Station is integral to the national rail network. This project will allow Amtrak to construct a new revenue track and increase capacity to meet the growing demand for rail services,” said David Handera, Amtrak Vice President of Stations, Facilities, Properties and Accessibility.
Union Station is the second busiest rail terminal in the U.S., behind New York’s Penn Station.
The new lower level Union Station platform, which will be used by both Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express passengers, will open sometime in 2022.
Amtrak has undertaken an ongoing $2.4 billion investment at Union Station and its trains, with new Acela trains due to arrive in 2022.
It is also renovating Union Station’s commuter rail concourse, nearly doubling its current capacity.