Union Station (Washington Metro)

Infobox Station
name = Union Station

logo_size = 50


image_size = 250
image_caption =
address = 701 1st Street, Northeast
Washington, D.C. 20002
line =
other = Amtrak, VRE and MARC by way of Union Station
platform = 1 island platform
tracks = 2
parking =
bicycle = 23 racks
passengers = 11.897 million
pass_year = 2006
pass_percent = 2
opened = March 27, 1976
rebuilt =
ADA = Yes
code = B03
owned = Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
former = Union Station-Visitor Center
zone =
services =
mpassengers =

Union Station is a Washington Metro station in Washington, D.C. on the Red Line.

The station is located in the Northeast quadrant of the city under the western end of Union Station, the main train station for Washington, at which connections can be made to Amtrak intercity trains as well as the Virginia Railway Express and MARC regional rail trains to the suburbs.

It features an island platform with two exits, one mid-platform leading into the main part of the station and Massachusetts Avenue and the other at the northern end emptying onto 1st Street NE and to the main boarding concourse.

The station was originally named "Union Station-Visitor Center" but when the National Visitor Center there failed, it was renamed Union Station. In fact, one or two pylons still read "Union Station-Visitor Center," and a number of older stations still display this name on signage.

Like the other original stations, Union Station sports coffered vaults of concrete in its ceiling even though it is a shallow station constructed using simple cut and cover methods [http://chnm.gmu.edu/metro/con2.html] .

Service began on March 27, 1976 with the opening of the Red Line. It is the busiest station in the Metrorail system, averaging 33,000 passengers per weekday as of May 3, 2006.cite web |title=Request for Expressions of Interest for Operation of Retail Services in Metrorail Stations |publisher=WMATA |date=February 16, 2007 |url= http://www.wmata.com/bus2bus/reoi/reoi.pdf]

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
* Hall of States
* Hart Senate Office Building
* Heritage Foundation
* Japanese-American Memorial
* National Guard Memorial
* National Postal Museum
* Russell Senate Office Building
* Securities and Exchange Commission
* Supreme Court of the United States
* Sursum Corda Cooperative
* Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building
* Union Station
* United States Capitol
* Washington, D.C. bus terminal

Bus routes

Metrobus
* 80
* 96, 97
* D1
* D3
* D4
* D6
* D8
* N22
* X1
* X2
* X8

Loudoun County Commuter Bus
* Loudoun

OmniRide Commuter Bus
* OmniRide

External links

* WMATA: [http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/Stations/station.cfm?station=25 Union Station]
* StationMasters Online: [http://www.stationmasters.com/System_Map/UNIONSTA/unionsta.html Union Station]
* The Schumin Web Transit Center: [http://transit.schuminweb.com/rail/washington/red-line.asp?station=B03 Union Station]

References