Today Union Station is again one of Washington's busiest and best-known places, visited by 40 million people each year and has many shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Union Station is served by Amtrak's high-speed Acela Express, Northeast Regional, and several of Amtrak's long-distance trains (including, among others, the Capitol Limited, Crescent, and Silver Service trains).
From Union Station, Amtrak also operates long-distance service to the Southeast and Midwest, including many intermediate stops to destinations such as Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Miami.
 In fiscal 2011, an average of more than 13,000 passengers boarded or got off Amtrak trains each day.
It is also the busiest station that can handle the railroad's Superliner railcars; inadequate tunnel clearances in Baltimore and New York preclude the use of Superliners on most Eastern routes.

The station is also the terminus for the MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter railways, linking Washington to Maryland and West Virginia (MARC) and Northern Virginia (VRE).
A nearby Washington Metro station connects to the Red Line.

The station's tracks are split between a ground level and a lower level.
The ground level contains tracks 7–20 (tracks 1-6 no longer exist), which are served by high-level bay platforms at the door level of most trains.
These tracks are used by all MARC commuter rail services, all Amtrak Acela Express trains, the Amtrak Capitol Limited, and Amtrak Northeast Regional trains that terminate at the station.
All of the tracks on this level terminate at the station and are only used by trains arriving from and departing to the north.

The lower level contains tracks 22–29, which are served by low-level platforms at the track level.
These platforms are served by all VRE trains, all Amtrak long-distance trains that serve the station except for the Capitol Limited, and Amtrak Northeast Regional trains that continue south to Virginia.
Unlike the tracks on the upper level, the lower level tracks run through under the station building and Capitol Hill via the First Street tunnel.
Electrification ends at the station, and all trains continuing south through the tunnel must have their electric engines swapped out for diesel locomotives.
For example, when a southbound Northeast Regional train arrives on a lower level platform on its way to Newport News, Virginia, its Siemens ACS-64 electric engine is removed and set aside.
A GE Genesis diesel engine that was earlier removed from a northbound train is coupled to the front of the southbound, and it continues through the tunnel toward Virginia.
The ACS-64 is readied for a Northeast Regional arriving from Alexandria, and once coupled pulls the train toward Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York or Boston.

The Metrorail station is underground beneath the western side of the building.
Entrances are located inside Union Station with direct access from the high-level MARC and Amtrak platforms, from the east side of First Street NE, or from just outside the station at Massachusetts Avenue NE, providing access to the main concourse.

On August 1, 2011, John Porcari, the United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation, announced that Union Station would begin serving intercity buses operated by Greyhound Lines, BoltBus, Megabus, and Washington Deluxe later that year from a new bus facility in the station's parking garage.
 By November 15, 2011,  BoltBus, Megabus, Tripper Bus, and Washington Deluxe were operating from the new facility.
On September 26, 2012, Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines relocated all of their Washington, D.C., operations to the facility.
Buses of the Georgetown-Union Station route of the DC Circulator system stop within the facility every ten minutes during operating hours.
As of 2017, OurBus now services Union Station, providing routes to Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.

The DC Streetcar's H Street/Benning Road Line serves the station from a stop on the H Street Bridge (a.k.a.
the "Hopscotch Bridge") directly north of the station.
The stop is accessible via the station's parking garage.

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Today Union Station is again one of Washington's busiest and best-known places, visited by 40 million people each year and has many shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Union Station is served by Amtrak's high-speed Acela Express, Northeast Regional, and several of Amtrak's long-distance trains (including, among others, the Capitol Limited, Crescent, and Silver Service trains). From Union Station, Amtrak also operates long-distance service to the Southeast and Midwest, including many intermediate stops to destinations such as Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and Miami.  In fiscal 2011, an average of more than 13,000 passengers boarded or got off Amtrak trains each day. It is also the busiest station that can handle the railroad's Superliner railcars; inadequate tunnel clearances in Baltimore and New York preclude the use of Superliners on most Eastern routes.
The station is also the terminus for the MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter railways, linking Washington to Maryland and West Virginia (MARC) and Northern Virginia (VRE). A nearby Washington Metro station connects to the Red Line.
The station's tracks are split between a ground level and a lower level. The ground level contains tracks 7–20 (tracks 1-6 no longer exist), which are served by high-level bay platforms at the door level of most trains. These tracks are used by all MARC commuter rail services, all Amtrak Acela Express trains, the Amtrak Capitol Limited, and Amtrak Northeast Regional trains that terminate at the station. All of the tracks on this level terminate at the station and are only used by trains arriving from and departing to the north.
The lower level contains tracks 22–29, which are served by low-level platforms at the track level. These platforms are served by all VRE trains, all Amtrak long-distance trains that serve the station except for the Capitol Limited, and Amtrak Northeast Regional trains that continue south to Virginia. Unlike the tracks on the upper level, the lower level tracks run through under the station building and Capitol Hill via the First Street tunnel. Electrification ends at the station, and all trains continuing south through the tunnel must have their electric engines swapped out for diesel locomotives. For example, when a southbound Northeast Regional train arrives on a lower level platform on its way to Newport News, Virginia, its Siemens ACS-64 electric engine is removed and set aside. A GE Genesis diesel engine that was earlier removed from a northbound train is coupled to the front of the southbound, and it continues through the tunnel toward Virginia. The ACS-64 is readied for a Northeast Regional arriving from Alexandria, and once coupled pulls the train toward Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York or Boston.
The Metrorail station is underground beneath the western side of the building. Entrances are located inside Union Station with direct access from the high-level MARC and Amtrak platforms, from the east side of First Street NE, or from just outside the station at Massachusetts Avenue NE, providing access to the main concourse.
On August 1, 2011, John Porcari, the United States Deputy Secretary of Transportation, announced that Union Station would begin serving intercity buses operated by Greyhound Lines, BoltBus, Megabus, and Washington Deluxe later that year from a new bus facility in the station's parking garage.  By November 15, 2011,  BoltBus, Megabus, Tripper Bus, and Washington Deluxe were operating from the new facility. On September 26, 2012, Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines relocated all of their Washington, D.C., operations to the facility. Buses of the Georgetown-Union Station route of the DC Circulator system stop within the facility every ten minutes during operating hours. As of 2017, OurBus now services Union Station, providing routes to Maryland, New Jersey, and New York.
The DC Streetcar's H Street/Benning Road Line serves the station from a stop on the H Street Bridge (a.k.a. the "Hopscotch Bridge") directly north of the station. The stop is accessible via the station's parking garage.
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Washington Union Station