Amtrak took over Union Station’s operations Monday and is launching a program to improve customer experience after a yearslong legal dispute with the previous management company, according to press release published Monday. 

Amtrak will be responsible for overseeing the station’s daily management and operations effective immediately — including the leasing of more than 100 retail spaces — and plans to install additional seating and directional signage for customers, the release states. The announcement comes at the culmination of a two year long legal battle in which Rexmark, the company that previously managed Union Station, pushed back against Amtrak’s attempts to take control of the station. 

The congressionally chartered and subsidized rail corporation took over the management of Union Station following a July 15 decision by the US District Court for the District of Columbia. In 2022, Amtrak sued Union Station Investco — the company opperated by Rexmark — claiming they had the right to acquire the management rights to the station via eminent domain, a power given to them by congress that allows Amtrak to take control of property “necessary” for intercity rail transportation. 

Union Station is one of Amtrak’s busiest stations with service to the Northeast Corridor, a rail transit route connecting Boston to D.C. According to GW Enrollment data from 2023, more than 30 percent of students live in states along the Northeast Corridor. 

Amtrak said their work to improve the station will take place in conjunction with the Department of Transportation — who owns the building and land —  and Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, the company that leases the building from the federal government. 

Four rail companies use Union Station as a terminal, as well as a number of busing and car rental agencies. 

Union Station’s retail space, once a commercial hub, has been in decline for years. The station’s website listed more than 100 stores open for business in 2010, but today lists only 56 with the remaining storefront spaces left vacant. 

Rexmark declined to comment on the US District Court’s decision but shared excerpts of court filings with The Hatchet. According to the excerpts, Rexmark accused Amtrak of artificially deflating the value of the property and claimed turning over possession of the station would cause “significant” consequences to the property and the leaseholders. 

Amtrak did not return to a request for comment on their new control of Union Station.