Union Station (WMATA Station)

Union Station (WMATA Station)

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

The station is located in Northeast 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 commuter 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.

Service began on March 27, 1976 with the opening of the Red Line. It is the busiest station in the Metrorail system, averaging 32,745 passengers per weekday as of May 2010.