Tunnel Renovation South of Union Station for 10 Days from the Evening of the 16th to the 26th

VRE to Operate Only Up to L’Enfant Station… Amtrak to Operate Connecting Shuttle Buses

Starting this weekend, major rail routes connecting Washington, D.C.'s Union Station and Virginia will be suspended or significantly reduced for 10 days. Commuters, including Korean-American residents, are expected to experience disruptions on their way to and from work.

Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) announced that train services will be adjusted from the evening of Friday the 16th to Monday the 26th due to work replacing aging tracks at a critical junction (A-Interlocking) inside the First Street Tunnel south of Union Station. This construction is part of infrastructure modernization efforts to increase track reliability and reduce delays.

The construction will begin in earnest on Friday evening immediately after VRE's final weekday run concludes.

As a result, VRE will completely suspend service to Union Station from Monday the 19th to Friday the 23rd. Accordingly, northbound trains will terminate at L’Enfant Station, and southbound evening commute trains will also be modified to depart from L’Enfant Station instead of Union Station.

Amtrak's major routes will also be impacted. Train service between Union Station and Virginia's Alexandria Station will be suspended during the construction period, and Amtrak plans to operate replacement shuttle buses timed with train schedules to connect the two stations.

During this outage period, maintenance crews will replace critical components, including double-slip switch devices and diagonal crossover tracks (diamonds). In addition, installations of new electric switch machines, tunnel ballast replacements, and drainage improvements will be carried out.