USDOT Unveils Initiatives for America’s Busiest Trains Stations

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) used this week's launch of Amtrak’s NextGen Acelas to announce that the federal government will be playing a bigger role in shaping the development and operations of some of the busiest intercity train stations in the U.S.

Washington Union Station

The “whistle stop” tour started at Washington, DC, where Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his department would be playing a greater role in managing Washington Union Station, reclaiming direct control of the historic building. USDOT has owned Washington Union Station since the early 1980s when Congress passed the Union Station Redevelopment Act of 1981, with the USDOT delegating control to the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), established in 1983. In 2025, Amtrak took over management and operations through a sublease secured after a lengthy legal battle.

The details of the announcement were light, with the USDOT indicating formal action confirming the USDOT’s renewed control of Washington Union Station will come sometime in September.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Duffy’s leadership, USDOT will now leverage the valuable commercial aspects of Union Station, under the direct management of USRC, to reinvest in Union Station,” stated the announcement. “The capital needs of Union Station include improvements to elevators, lighting, and security along with enhancements to the passenger experience and replacing the roof and other major systems.”

New York Penn Station

Secretary Duffy deboarded the NextGen Acelas in New York City, where he was joined by Special Advisor to the Amtrak Board Andy Byford to announce a revised implementation schedule for the Penn Station “Transformation” project. The Trump Administration announced the takeover of the megaproject from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in April of this year.

The USDOT announced it will initiate an “approximately 18-month Service Optimization Study in October with a goal of studying ways to accommodate passenger service growth at New York Penn Station and the surrounding region”, while setting an ambitious goal for initiating construction by 2027.

Other elements of the timeline outlined by the USDOT include:

• August 2025: Master developer solicitation advance notice
• Fall 2025: Contracting industry stakeholder engagement
• Late 2025: Master developer solicitation release
• May 2026: Master developer selection
• Summer 2026 to End of 2027: Preliminary design and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) activities
• End of 2027: Construction initiation

Byford, known for his transit leadership in New York and London, will oversee the redevelopment, focusing on increasing train capacity and improving the passenger experience.

While the final design remains undecided—and officials wouldn’t say whether or not Madison Square Garden would need to be relocated—Byford indicated they would not seek to advance proposals that would require the demolition of a block south of 31st Street; Amtrak, the MTA, and NJ Transit had previously stated this would be necessary.

Intriguingly, Amtrak’s Byford seems to be interested in pursuing through-running, which would allow for the conservation of valuable track space at Penn Station through the optimization of commuter railroad operations.

“While we look to see what more capacity can we squeeze out of the existing station, both through more efficient operations, literally the logistics of running the trains through the station, plus with the potential for through-running,” said Byford.

While many of the critical details will be decided in the coming months, the announcement received praise from New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

“Those conversations successfully secured federal funding in April to advance redevelopment, allowing us to reallocate over $1 billion for other critical projects,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement. “With Secretary Duffy now advancing this project and requesting design proposals, New Yorkers are one step closer to a station worthy of this great city.”