train at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in August 2018 The station opened on July 1, 1977. Its opening coincided with the completion of of rail between
National Airport and
RFK Stadium and the opening of the , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , and stations. When service began on July 1, 1977, it was the southern terminus of the Blue Line. After the Yellow Line extension to opened on December 17, 1983, the station remained the southern terminus for the Blue Line until the station opened in 1991. During construction of a second canopy at the station, Metro began running trains through the center track even though it had not been constructed for standard operations, and on January 20, 2003, a Blue Line train derailed at the switch. No injuries resulted, but the accident delayed construction by a number of weeks. The center track was originally intended for relaying trains. In May 2018, Metro announced an extensive renovation of platforms at twenty stations across the system. The Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station served as a temporary southern terminal for the Blue and Yellow Lines from May to September 2019, while the stations south of the National Airport station were closed. The platforms at the National Airport station itself were rebuilt from August to December 2020. Between May 25 and September 8, 2019, all trains terminated at this station due to the first phase of WMATA's Platform Improvement Project which closed stations south of Reagan National Airport.
Renaming controversy The station retained its original name after the airport was renamed in 1998 from "Washington National Airport" to "Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport". In early 2001, a letter signed by 24 members of
Congress requested WMATA rename the station to conform. However, according to a Metro policy adopted in 1987, groups seeking to rename a station were required to pay the cost of replacing signs and maps. The Arlington County government, which could have made the change, demurred—the price was estimated at $400,000—and WMATA subsequently declined to rename the station on April 19, 2001. In response,
Republican Congressman Bob Barr of
Georgia threatened to withhold federal funding from the agency unless the station was renamed. According to then-General Manager
Richard A. White, Metro paid to complete the renaming. == Station layout ==