Amtrak, the U.S. passenger rail service, proposed a plan of expansion of the Washington D.C.'s Union Station to make it a high speed rail and commercial center.
Amtrak said $7 billion has been proposed in the projects expansion, which includes the doubling of the number of trains that can handle the increased number of predicted future tourists, as well as, daily travelers.
The plan also covers the development and renovation of 3 million square feet (278,709 square meters) in commercial, retail and residential development as Union Station is the second-busiest Amtrak station in the United States.
"This plan will transform the station into a world-class transportation hub to serve the region and the mobility needs of generations of passengers yet to come," Amtrak President and Chief Executive Joe Boardman said in the statement and Reuters reported.
This upgrade will come up with six new high-speed tracks at Union Station which will help in reducing the travel time between Washington and New York City to 94 minutes, which is about one-third faster than Amtrak's current Acela trains.
The funding for the whole project which will cost around $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion has not been disclosed yet by Amtrak.
Union Station was built in 1907 and handles 100,000 passenger trips every day. Amtrak is planning to organize the station system for the comfort of the traveler and also because it is an historical attraction for the tourist visiting Washington D.C.
The major expansion will be done underground only where more number of platforms, tracks and shopping arenas are going to be built.
The whole Amtrak proposal will need a strong and substantial support from states and the federal government to carry out the plan.
Amtrak also announced a $151 billion improvement plan designed at transforming high-speed rail in the northeastern United States.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
