"NoMa" is a moniker for the area north of Massachusetts Avenue located north and east of Union Station in Washington, D.C. NoMa includes the neighborhoods of Sursum Corda, Eckington, and Near Northeast and includes a section historically known as Swampoodle.

Washington Union Station, known locally as Union Station, is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North America's 10th-busiest railroad station. The station is the southern terminus of the Northeast Corridor, an electrified rail line extending north through major cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, and the busiest passenger rail line in the nation. In 2015, it served just under five million passengers.