The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on 27 August that it is reclaiming day-to-day management of Washington’s Union Station, shifting control away from Amtrak and the nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corporation. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a revised cooperation agreement is being negotiated and that a formal order confirming federal management is expected in September. Duffy cited disrepair, public-safety concerns and lost commercial potential at the historic Beaux-Arts terminal, calling the facility a federal asset that should be “safe and beautiful.” National Guard troops have patrolled the station this month as part of the Trump administration’s wider anti-crime deployment across the capital. Although USDOT has owned Union Station since the early 1980s, successive leases diluted direct oversight. The new arrangement is intended to channel retail income into upgrades to lighting, elevators, security systems and the roof. The move follows earlier federal interventions in rail infrastructure, including April’s decision to place Amtrak in charge of a $7 billion overhaul of New York’s Penn Station. Wednesday’s announcement coincided with the launch of Amtrak’s NextGen Acela trains, which can reach 160 mph on the Northeast Corridor and provide 27 percent more seating. Union Station is slated for an $8.8 billion ‘Second Century’ expansion that would triple passenger capacity; USDOT said renewed federal control should help steer that project and attract additional private investment.