By Isaiah Glenn and Queen Hudgins
WASHINGTON – Union Station, a gateway for travel and entertainment for tourists and locals, attracts thousands of passengers a day who also account for the hustle and bustle of the District.
Around 90,000 people pass through Union Station daily, according to the station’s website. They’re either visiting museums, monuments to the nation’s history or friends and family.
Brian Roach is one of them. A Washington resident, but a Philadelphia native, he said he only uses the train twice a year to commute to and from Philadelphia to visit family.
“It’s an enjoyable experience and it beats the bus,” said Roach, waiting for his train at Gate J.
He said that,for the most part, the trains are on time and provide him a guaranteed good ride.
Outside the station,a convoy of minivans and taxicabs await exiting train passengers. Looped around the station,more than 20 cab drivers keep their vehicles at the ready.
Also sitting aredouble-decker tour buses as well as the D.C. Ducks tour bus and boat. These amphibious vehicles – allowing tourists to see Washington on the land and water – take commuters on a tour through the city before splashing down into the Potomac River.
The Norman family from Pittsburgh, Pa.,was among those in line for a tour bus. Wife Kim Norman brought the family to Washington to celebrate her husband’s birthday. They had already visited the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol and White House without a glitch thanks to a tourist service at Union Station.
Akinwuni Edkunne, a Union Station security guard on the job for six months, said the business days attract the most passengers and that the crowds are always diverse.
“If you come Monday through Friday,” he said, “you will see everything.”