Union Station (Washington Metro)
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. 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. Between January 15 to January 21, 2021, this station was closed because of security concerns due to the 2020 Inauguration. 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 Station layout. Like the other original stations of the Metro, Union Station sports coffered vaults of concrete in its ceiling. 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.