District of Columbia Train Derailments 2026
Quick answer: District of Columbia had 3 train derailments in 2026 through August, the latest month in the FRA data, compared with 2 in January-August 2025. 2025 ended with 2 derailments. FRA figures run 2-3 months behind: for a derailment today, see accidents today.
Updated · FRA records through 31 August 2026 · Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Form 54 (public domain)
Looking for a derailment today? Official FRA data lags 2-3 months, so recent crashes are not on this map yet. See accidents today (every accident report from the last 24 hours) and the live accident map, which lists rail accidents from news reports every 15 minutes, or District of Columbia accidents today.
District of Columbia train derailment map
Every derailment in District of Columbia reported to the FRA in 2025 and 2026, placed at the coordinates the railroad reported. Click a dot for the railroad, cars derailed, hazmat, injuries, cause and the official FRA report.
5 derailments shown
Latest train derailments in District of Columbia
Newest first, as filed by the railroads. Filters above also apply to this list.
| Date | Place | Railroad | Cars | Hazmat | Hurt | Cause (FRA) | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-20 | Washington, Washington, Dc County | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 1 | none | none | Wide gage (due to defective or missing crossties)Railroad's descriptionYard Crew WSH18A derailed loco E/792 while traveling southbound on the VRE 1 track due to wide gauge. |
FRA |
| 2026-07-23 | Washington, Washington, Dc County | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 1 | none | none | Derail, failure to apply or removeRailroad's descriptionDiesel Pit Foreman instructed the crew to move locomotives 314 and 368 from Track 26 to the ready track (Track 27). A job briefing was conducted between the HEOs however the path was not walked when they were filling out their move books. The move went over a derail in the upright position. |
FRA |
| 2026-01-23 | Washington, Washington, Dc County | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 1 | none | none | Switch previously run throughRailroad's descriptionYard crew shoved through the 826 switch on DC Coach Yard Wye and reversed back through the switch, derailing one car. |
FRA |
| 2025-05-06 | Washington, Washington, Dc County | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 1 | none | none | Switch previously run throughRailroad's descriptionWhile moving locomotives E/620 and E/621, consist was lined up for 3 track getting ready to set offE/620 in 3 Track. Crew stopped south of the 916 switch to pick up a Groundman. Crew continued northto clear 3 Track Switch, running through 916 Switch, gapping it. Crew then reversed south over the 916 switch causing E... |
FRA |
| 2025-04-23 | Washington, Washington, Dc County | Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 1 | none | none | Switch improperly linedRailroad's descriptionWHS32C yard shop crew operating with E/535 was making a move out the north end of 5 & 6 shop. The Student Engineer was operating & ran through the 914 switch and then made a reverse move resulting inthe derailment of car 10005. |
FRA |
"Cars" counts derailed cars and locomotives. "Hazmat" counts cars carrying hazardous materials: released = some product escaped. Showing up to 50 rows; the map has all 5.
Recent rail accident news
Headlines our live monitor matched as rail accidents. These are news reports, not FRA records: details may change and some will never meet the FRA reporting threshold.
District of Columbia train derailments by year
2026 covers January-August only. Each derailment is counted once, even when more than one railroad filed a report.
* 2026 to date (January-August, preliminary). Source: FRA Form 54, distinct accidents with accident type "derailment".
Top causes of train derailments in District of Columbia
The railroad codes a primary cause on every report from FRA's train accident cause code list. We group the codes into FRA's five main groups and their sub-groups, in plain English.
2026 (to August) · 3 derailments
2025 · 2 derailments
| Sub-group (2025-2026) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Switches lined wrong, not locked or run through | 3 |
| Track geometry: wide gauge, misaligned or buckled track | 1 |
| Switching moves: shoving, coupling, derails left on | 1 |
| Most common exact causes (FRA wording) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Switch previously run through | 2 |
| Wide gage (due to defective or missing crossties) | 1 |
| Derail, failure to apply or remove | 1 |
| Switch improperly lined | 1 |
Counts for 2025 and 2026 to date. The sub-groups sum only the top rows. A cause "under investigation" is updated when the railroad amends its report.
Railroads with the most derailments in District of Columbia
By the railroad that filed the main report. Large railroads run far more train-miles, so a higher count does not by itself mean a worse safety record.
| Railroad | 2026 (to Aug) | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) | 3 | 2 |
"-" = not in that year's top list.
District of Columbia derailments by county, 2025-2026
| County (as reported to FRA) | Derailments |
|---|---|
| Washington, Dc | 5 |
Counties with big rail yards tend to top this list: 100% of the District of Columbia derailments on the map happened at a train speed of 10 mph or less.
Collisions and other train accidents in District of Columbia
Derailments are the largest group of rail equipment accidents. The same FRA reports also cover collisions, fires and trains hitting obstructions.
| Accident type (FRA) | 2026 (to Aug) | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Derailment | 3 | 2 |
| Head-on collision | 0 | 1 |
| Hit an obstruction | 0 | 1 |
| Fire or violent rupture | 0 | 1 |
| Other (see narrative) | 3 | 4 |
| All rail equipment accidents | 6 | 9 |
Highway-rail crossing crashes appear here only when train or track damage passed the FRA threshold; most crossing crashes are reported on a separate form (FRA F 6180.57) and are not in this table.
Train derailments: FAQ
How many train derailments have there been in District of Columbia in 2026?
Was there a train derailment today?
What causes most train derailments?
Where can I see a map of train derailments in District of Columbia?
How many train derailments happen a year in the US?
Where does this data come from?
About this data
- Source: Federal Railroad Administration, Rail Equipment Accident/Incident Data (Form 54) on data.transportation.gov (readable view of the source dataset aqxq-n5hy). US government work, public domain. Cause groups: FRA train accident cause codes (Appendix C of the FRA reporting guide).
- What is counted: accidents with FRA accident type 01 (derailment) that caused damage above the FRA reporting threshold. Each accident is counted once by its FRA incident key, even when two or three railroads filed reports. Killed and injured are the accident totals; hazmat cars are added up across the railroads' reports.
- Lag: railroads report each month's accidents by the end of the following month and FRA publishes after that, so the data runs 2-3 months behind. The latest month can still rise as late reports arrive. This page re-checks FRA once a day.
- Map positions are the latitude and longitude the railroad entered on the report; a few may be approximate.
- Not included: accidents below the damage threshold, transit systems that do not report to FRA, and Canada. Canadian rail occurrence statistics are published by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.