Amtrak Reopens Refurbished Washington, D.C. Union Station Lounge

Amtrak recently closed its Washington, D.C. Union Station Lounge for several weeks for refurbishment, and the lounge has reopened this week with some minor changes. This lounge has been one of Amtrak’s older lounges that has gone without refurbishment for years, and while the changes are small, they do provide a bit of a refresh for one of Amtrak’s most used lounges.

New Look

The Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge is located between gates D and E at Union Station and is open from 4:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday through Sunday. This lounge has been neglected for years. While Amtrak added some new furniture a few years ago, the bones of the lounge haven’t changed in years, which has been disappointing considering how much use this lounge gets.

Union Station is scheduled for a massive refurbishment and construction project over the next few years, so the work Amtrak has done on its lounge is enough to provide a few new looks, but not enough to make this a new, modern lounge. That will come when the new Union Station debuts in a few years.

You’ll notice a few things in the new lounge:

• The beverage station with the previous soda dispenser has now been replaced by a refrigerator with canned and bottled beverages, which is much better than the previous system, as the carbonated drinks that used to come out of the old dispenser were consistently flat. There’s also a new coffee maker machine, allowing you to select custom beverages.
• There’s an entire new snack bar area, replacing the previously offered table that was offered in the front of the lounge. You’ll notice an entirely new section with cabinetry, a tile backslash, and garbage disposal slots. The food selection hasn’t changed, however, and you’ll still find limited prepackaged snacks … much less than what you’ll find at New York Moynihan Train Hall’s lounge.
• There’s new artwork on the walls, with large full-wall train images.
• TVs are now mounted in custom cabinetry, providing a much more pleasing look.
• Trash receptacles and cabinetry have been refreshed.
• The old conference room has been completely updated with a conference table, and additional seating, with a partition that’s able to separate the seating section from the conference section.

Final Thoughts

These changes certainly aren’t enough to make this lounge rival a major airline lounge, but it’s enough to patch up the deficiencies the older lounge had. We’re hopeful that when the new station opens we’ll see a much more modern and stunning facility.