At 4:29 p.m. EST ( 21:29 UTC ) on Wednesday , January 13 , 1982 , an eastbound train ( Train 410 ) on the Orange Line derailed while backing up from an improperly closed rail switch called the Smithsonian Interlocking . The derailment occurred after the front wheelset followed one track and the rear wheelset followed another , after the train entered a track normally used to switch trains between the parallel tracks . The resulting derailment saw the train move in a diagonal fashion for before coming to a stop just east of the Federal Triangle station . Due to its occurrence during the evening rush hour , 1,200 persons were reportedly aboard the train . The accident resulted in three fatalities and 25 injured . Both Orange and Blue Line service was suspended between McPherson Square and the Federal Center SW stations . The response to the incident was slowed due to emergency personnel already responding to the crash of Air Florida Flight 90 into the 14th Street Bridge thirty minutes earlier . Full service along the Metro did not reopen until the evening of January 15 following the removal of the wreckage from the tunnel
Air Florida Flight 90
Air Florida Flight 90
1982 Washington Metro train derailment