JUL 29, 1:30 PM

Union Station Has Serious Security Vulnerabilities, Per Amtrak Inspector General Report
Natalie Delgadillo

Washington’s Union Station and the Ivy City Yard maintenance facility continue to have serious security gaps that make them vulnerable to trespassers and potential safety problems, according to a report from Amtrak’s inspector general released last week.

Some of these security vulnerabilities allowed a driver in a red vehicle to trespass on company property and drive onto the train tracks in March, the report states. The company implemented some new security measures after the incident, but several problems remain that “are placing passengers and employees at risk,” per the report. (The inspector general’s office analyzed only the parts of Union Station that Amtrak owns or subleases.) WTOP was first to report on the inspector general’s findings.

For starters, despite new security measures, an entrance to Union Station continues to be vulnerable to pedestrian trespassers. Screening at the entrances has been “inconsistent,” according to the report, because contracted security guards aren’t always posted at the entrances or don’t thoroughly screen people coming into the station, “and the company does not effectively monitor them,” the report says. Additionally, combination locks at the station haven’t been changed in years, and staff regularly prop open doors, meaning that restricted areas are open for anyone to walk through.



A car drove onto the Amtrak train tracks at Union Station in March.
Courtesy of the Amtrak Office of the Inspector General

At Ivy City Yard, an Amtrak maintenance facility and coach yard, lighting is inadequate, gates are left open, and security guards do not consistently check identification at the entrances, the report says. Copper cables have previously been stolen from the yard, and people often trespass at night to sleep in areas of the yard, employees told inspectors. Some surveillance cameras at both Ivy City and Union Station are broken.
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