WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation

Department said on Wednesday it planned to reclaim management of

Washington Union Station, one of the country's biggest rail

hubs, after Trump administration officials raised safety

concerns.

In March, the White House forced the CEO of U.S. passenger

railroad company Amtrak, Stephen Gardner, to step down following

orders by President Donald Trump.

The plan to reclaim Union Station follows Trump's move this

month to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington

after he took control of the local police department over the

objections of local leaders.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement the

department was renegotiating a cooperative agreement with the

non-profit Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, which

controls the station, and Amtrak. In September, formal action

confirming the USDOT's renewed control of Union Station is

expected, he added.

National Guard troops have guarded sites including Union

Station and Vice President JD Vance visited soldiers at the

station last week.

Amtrak is set to unveil on Wednesday new high-speed Acela

trains on the busy Northeast Corridor, linking Boston to

Washington, the busiest U.S. rail corridor with 800,000 daily

trips in a region representing 20% of the U.S. economy.

The new trains can run at speeds up to 160 miles per hour

(mph), 10 miles faster than the current trains, but they will

initially only be able to run at that faster speed on a very

limited portion of track until additional works are undertaken.

The new train sets built by Alstom in the United

States will have 27% more seating per train. Last week, the

Trump administration said it was hiking metals tariffs on

imported railcars.

In April, USDOT said it would withdraw the Metropolitan

Transportation Authority from leading the Penn Station

Reconstruction project in New York City and instead Amtrak,

backed by USDOT will oversee the project in midtown Manhattan.

Trump, during his first term, repeatedly sought to cut

funding to Amtrak, which received about $2.4 billion in annual

federal support in 2023. Congress in March approved $2.42

billion for Amtrak through September 30 in annual funding.

The railroad company, which has been run since March by its

president Roger Harris, has not named a new CEO. It set a new

passenger record last year.