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Rail News: Passenger Rail
4/18/2011
Rail News: Passenger Rail
WMATA committee recommends project to improve safety, capacity at Union Station
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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) Finance and Administration Committee has approved advancing proposed safety and capacity improvements for Union Station.
The project is “necessary to improve station conditions for today’s customers,” WMATA board member Tom Downs said in a prepared statement.
Union Station accommodates 68,000 riders daily, making the station the busiest in the Metrorail system.
WMATA and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation recently completed a study of potential safety, capacity and accessibility improvements to Union Station, a major transportation hub that connects Metrorail riders with Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter and Virginia Railway Express services.
The proposed work includes: better evacuation capacity; improved safety of the Metrorail platform; capacity expansion of all three levels of the north mezzanine, platform and concourse; a direct link to new development, streetcars and an intercity bus terminal; and improved access to commuter rail, Amtrak and retail shops at the station.
The finance committee recommended establishing a reimbursable project for the environmental documentation, preliminary engineering and design; establishing a $2.55 million budget using Federal Transit Administration grants and local matching funds; increasing the fiscal-year 2011 reimbursable projects budget from $6 million to $8.6 million; and authorizing the general manager/chief executive officer to negotiate and execute the reimbursable agreement with the District of Columbia.
WMATA’s full board is expected to vote April 28 on the proposed project.
The project is “necessary to improve station conditions for today’s customers,” WMATA board member Tom Downs said in a prepared statement.
Union Station accommodates 68,000 riders daily, making the station the busiest in the Metrorail system.
WMATA and the District of Columbia Department of Transportation recently completed a study of potential safety, capacity and accessibility improvements to Union Station, a major transportation hub that connects Metrorail riders with Amtrak, Maryland Area Regional Commuter and Virginia Railway Express services.
The proposed work includes: better evacuation capacity; improved safety of the Metrorail platform; capacity expansion of all three levels of the north mezzanine, platform and concourse; a direct link to new development, streetcars and an intercity bus terminal; and improved access to commuter rail, Amtrak and retail shops at the station.
The finance committee recommended establishing a reimbursable project for the environmental documentation, preliminary engineering and design; establishing a $2.55 million budget using Federal Transit Administration grants and local matching funds; increasing the fiscal-year 2011 reimbursable projects budget from $6 million to $8.6 million; and authorizing the general manager/chief executive officer to negotiate and execute the reimbursable agreement with the District of Columbia.
WMATA’s full board is expected to vote April 28 on the proposed project.
