 Manassas, VA | Crescent | Washington, DC- Union Station  |
| Cardinal | Burke Centre, VA | Amtrak Virginia: Northeast Regional |  Woodbridge, VA | Quantico, VA | Carolinian | Fredericksburg, VA | Silver Meteor | Richmond-Staples Mill Road, VA | Palmetto |
| Floridian |
Alexandria Union Station is a historic station that has received continuous train service since it opened on September 15, 1905. The station is a Union Station of sorts since it was used by both the Southern Railway, and the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad a “bridge” railroad that connected southern railroads in Richmond (Chesapeake and Ohio, the Atlantic Coast Line, and the Seaboard Air Line) to the northern railroads in Washington, DC (the Pennsylvania, and Baltimore & Ohio) This train service was exclusively Amtrak from 1979, when the Southern Railway turned over operations of its Southern Crescent (it was one of the few freight railroads to opt-out when Amtrak was created) to Amtrak, until 1992 when the Virginia Railway Express Commuter train service began operations.
Today the station is in desperate need of platform renovations, with both platforms below the grade of the rail. Conductors move yellow mobile staircases (with a couple of steps) to and from the train doors to allow for slightly better boarding. The VRE automated announcements announce that Alexandria has a low platform and to detrain by the conductor who will have a step box set up for an easier step off the train.
The station contains three tracks, although only two of them really platform. Track 3 contains the station's historic 1905 station house in the Federal Reveal Style. This consists of two buildings: one the passenger depot, the other the baggage building. These buildings were connected in 1980s renovation to create a larger continuous station house and waiting area in later years with a connecting corridor with glass walls, that try to show that the station house was once two buildings. Inside is a white paint brick-walled station house with a historic-looking wooden ceiling, with the wooden crossbeams visible. At one end, and by the corridor to the former baggage building, is a relatively small ticket office. Wooden benches with arms line the station for waiting passengers.
The depot leads out to a small circular passenger-pick-up and drop-off area across from the Alexandria World War I Memorial. North of the passenger pick-up and drop off area is a short driveway and path that leads downhill to King Street. A wide staircase leads up to the Track 3 platform, along with a direct entrance (at this level) to the pedestrian tunnel to the opposite platform. Continuing north to King Street. The sidewalk leads underneath the railroad and to the southern entrance of the adjacent Washington Metro's King Street-Old Town Station, along with the Metro Station's large bus loop.
The Track 3 platform extends a good way south of the station, nearly reaching the overpass of Duke Street, with a parking lot just above a grassy from this end of the platform. Waiting passenger amenities are poor for such a busy station, there is some shade provided by the historic depot, otherwise there are a few bus shelters that line this platform.
The platform for Track 2 is even worse. It is an island platform with a fence separating it from Track 1 where there is a gate that conductors to open to allow passengers to board a train from Track 1 directly from the ballast and place a yellow boarding stool. This, much to my surprise happened to me when boarding the morning reverse-peak VRE train to Manassas. Track 2 has the normal tactile warning strip. This platform is a bit offset from the platform for Track 3 with the platform beginning at a staircase up from King Street before continuing south. This means connections to the Metro are even closer from this platform.
Near the northern end of the station house another staircase leads down to an arched walled (the arches are painted white) pedestrian tunnel. This tunnel arrives directly at street-level just south of the main station house, and a wide staircase along the stone retaining wall up to near the northern end of the track for platform 1. A historic-looking canopy/shelter structure lines this platform for about one car-length, just north of the historic depot. It has a gabled roof.
ADA access to the platform for Track 2 is a bit of an issue. The accessible entrance to platform 2 is provided by a pedestrian grade-crossing that is chained off, with staff (and call buttons) opening the grade-crossing for passengers who need it safely spotting passengers from oncoming trains. Signs say to “See agent for crossing” by both entrances to this crossing.
Station platform signage was brown signs that said Alexandria with arrows pointing towards Washington or Fredericksburg/Manassas beneath. Large Amtrak pointless arrow and VRE diamonds were on each side of this text. By the time I revisited the station in 2024, these had been replaced by nearly Amtrak standard signage (including wayfinding signage to the station platforms). With Alexandria, VA written in blue text on a silver background followed by a | and the small VRE and the modern Amtrak logos. There is then a blue line, some then have directional of travel arrows and lettering, one along track 1 says directions to Washington or Manassas.
Photos 1-37: October 12, 2015; 38-77: August 21, 2024; 78-85: September 5, 2024; 86-118: September 6, 2024; 119-126: September 7, 2024;
