Anyone who has spent time in Washington understands why Union Station is the first stop on President Trump’s crusade to build big, beautiful things again.

What operated for 100 years as a monument to the greatness of American commerce, ingenuity, and connection has now become an embarrassing epicenter of our capital’s crime crisis.

The station had become dilapidated. Stores had been shuttered. Vagrancy was rampant. A lack of leadership had created an environment where tourists and rail passengers no longer feel safe. A central station that once represented a nation on the rise has eroded into a ruin built by a people past its prime.

Trump and I are now working to reverse this decline.

The Department of Transportation has owned Union Station since the 1980s. As of last week, my department is reclaiming station management after decades of bureaucratic inaction. It is past time to restore safety, revitalize economic activity, and deliver overdue repairs.

We will embrace a “one building” approach with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and Amtrak to beautify this historic landmark in the heart of our nation’s capital. That means immediate improvements to security, preparing the way for private investment, and working together to maximize the uses of the station and clear the existing backlog of projects.

The capital needs of Union Station — including improvements to elevators, lighting, and security, along with replacing the roof and other major systems — are estimated to cost $170 million. The previous administration planned to pay more than $10 billion over 13 years for a grand expansion without addressing the basic needs of the historic station, all the while reducing critical elements such as parking.

We are going to take immediate action to make Union Station beautiful and safe again, and we are going to do it at a fraction of that cost. The station already smells nicer and looks cleaner just days after we launched our effort.

Fixing Union Station is just one piece of the puzzle to make D.C. great again. Washington D.C.’s transit........

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