U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tossed a wrench into a public private partnership and a multibillion-dollar redevelopment plan by announcing that the DOT will assume operational control of Union Station in Washington D.C.
"Instead of being a point of pride, Washington's Union Station has fallen into disrepair, said Duffy. "By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost."
The comments came during a press conference on Wednesday where Duffy also championed Amtrak's new Acela-class railcars.
Union Station has operated as a public private partnership since 1981 with the Federal Railroad Administration, an agency within DOT, owning the building and a string of private developers running station operations including retail and restaurants.
Amtrak, which has traditionally controlled the tracks took over operational supervision of the building in 2024 via eminent domain and a sublease arrangement with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, the non-profit that oversees the station.
The status of USRC's current role remains unclear and an interview request resulted in a referral back to DOT.
The Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. was the last private developer in charge of running the retail operations before being replaced by Amtrak, who now appears to be replaced by DOT.
"How is DOT acting as operator of the retail property it owns at 50 Mass. Ave. NE (Union Station) different than the prior practice of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. operating the retail property owned by DOT?" said Jeff Davis, a Senior Fellow with the Eno Center for Transportation.
"From a cash flow perspective, I would guess that DOT could conceivably make a bit more money operating directly rather than via lease, but not a lot."
Amtrak's involvement in the project has been on the Congressional radar screen since last June. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer R-Ky., opposed the takeover saying, "removing these private-sector partners will only serve to increase the amount of costs for which Amtrak is responsible."
Despite the protests the deal went forward, apparently for naught.
"Amtrak would not have had time to rejigger their own finances to include WUS retail revenues before this new Trump action wrested them away," said Davis. "The big public finance angle is the long-term redevelopment."
The long-term redevelopment includes a $10 billion P3 plan unveiled in 2022 that would deck over the tracks and adding a new train hall, while reconfiguring access to the Metrorail station, busses, ride hailing, and parking garages.
According to the DOT the plan, which has already cleared regulatory hurdles, is now off the table.
"We are going to make the investments to make sure that this station isn't dirty, that we don't have homelessness," said Duffy.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington D.C.'s non-voting representative in Congress is already questioning the legal fine print that has yet to emerge from the announcement.
She points to a bill she introduced in the House that would allow the USRC to apply for federal infrastructure grants as a better solution for improving the station.
The legislation would ensure "that the federal government will cover all project costs incurred by the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, which eliminates the need for any matching funds from the corporation itself."
Union Station is the second busiest station in the country and finished its last renovation in 1988. During the pandemic, traffic and revenues fell as the station became a hot spot for homeless camps that sprung up in the middle of Columbus Circle which sits in front of the station.
The camps were cleared in 2022 by the National Park Service.
The moves in Washington are mirrored by the Trump administrations effort to control a P3 that will run the renovation of New York's
