The U.S. Transportation Department announced plans to reclaim management of Washington Union Station, one of the country's biggest rail hubs, after Trump administration officials raised safety concerns.

The federal government plans to take control of Washington’s Union Station, a crucial link in the nation’s rail and transit system, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced.

The takeover is part of President Donald Trump's campaign to reduce crime and clean up the city, including the neglected Union Station, Duffy said Aug. 27.

Learn more: Who runs Union Station?

The Department of Transportation will restore the station and bring in new business, Duffy added.

Less than a mile from the Capitol, Union Station is a major hub for Amtrak trains and commuter rail lines to Maryland and Virginia. It has an annual ridership of 5.6 million and is the second-busiest hub in Amtrak's national network, USA TODAY reported.

Where is Union Station?

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Union Station hosts 40 million visitors a year, according to unionstationdc.com.

The station is also a connection point for the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Area Transit Authority subway system, which links the district to outlying communities and to nearby Reagan National and Dulles International airports.

How many train passengers use Union Station?

Ridership at Union Station, along with other stations, declined during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019 to 2021 but later recovered.

The plan to reclaim Union Station follows Trump's move this month to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington after he took control of the local police department over the objections of local leaders. National Guard soldiers have been on patrol in parts of the city, including Union Station.

Vice President JD Vance visited soldiers at the station last week.

How big is the Northeast Corridor?

Union Station is the southern point of the Northeast Corridor, the 457-mile railway that stretches across eight highly populated states and cities, from Washington to Boston.

Amtrak’s high-speed Acela passenger trains are part of that service. The corridor records more than 540,000 commuter trips on eight railroads and 50,000 on Amtrak’s intercity services each day, according to the Coalition for the Northeast Corridor.

Amtrak unveiled new high-speed Acela trains on the Northeast Corridor on Aug. 27.

What are the busiest stations in the U.S.?

The Transportation Department already owns Union Station. It's renegotiating a cooperative agreement with the nonprofit Union Station Redevelopment Corp. and Amtrak, which leases the station.

The federal government’s renewed control of the iconic station, which Duffy said has been in decline for decades, is expected in September, USA TODAY reported.

CONTRIBUTING Bart Jansen, Zachary Schermele and Christopher Cann

SOURCE USA TODAY Network reporting and research; Reuters; Amtrak; Coalition for the Northeast Corridor; Northeast Corridor Commission; Rail Passengers Association; unionstationdc.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What's next for DC's Union Station, a vital railway hub, after Trump takeover?

Reporting by Jennifer Borresen and George Petras, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect