Amtrak Is Cutting Off Washington, D.C. for Nine Days

Amtrak is halting train service into Washington Union Station from Alexandria, Virginia, for nine days. After the last service on Friday, October 16, trains will not run between Alexandria and Union Station until Monday morning, October 26. Amtrak calls the effort its “Pause for Progress” project.

The work is centred on the First Street Tunnel near Union Station. Amtrak says the existing switches and crossovers are beyond their service life, which forces a 10-mph speed restriction through the area. Replacing them is meant to head off larger, unplanned disruptions down the line, and doing it in one concentrated stretch avoids dragging the work out over many months.

Riders coming north from Richmond will be able to travel as far as Alexandria on the train. To finish the trip into the capital, Amtrak will run a bus service between Alexandria and Union Station. Anyone connecting to a Northeast Corridor train or a flight on the same day should build in extra time for the transfer.

The pause comes on top of other constraints on the route. Separate long-term work on the Long Bridge, expected to run until December 2030, has already reduced the number of morning Richmond-to-Union Station trains. If you are travelling between Virginia and D.C. in the next two weeks, check your specific train on Amtrak’s site before you leave.

Sources: The Richmonder, Amtrak Media