Metro News Release

For immediate release: April 2, 2010

Metrorail records 2nd highest ridership day on Thursday, April 1

Extremely crowded conditions on Metrorail anticipated throughout the remainder of Cherry Blossom events and for upcoming baseball games

Hundreds of thousands of people helped Metro set the transit agency’s second highest weekday ridership day in the history of the 34-year-old rail system on Thursday, April 1, when 877,890 trips were recorded on the Metrorail system.

The Cherry Blossom Festival and the Washington Capitals hockey win last night contributed to the high ridership.

With the Cherry Blossom Festival in full swing and temperatures in the 70s, Metro officials remind everyone that crowds will continue to be heavy, so riders should build extra time into their travel plans due to the larger than usual number of people using Metrorail and Metrobus. It may be difficult to board and exit crowded trains at the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. Metro encourages customers to also use the Union Station, Archives-Navy Mem’l Penn Quarter, Federal Triangle and L’Enfant Plaza Metrorail stations.

Tomorrow, Saturday, April 3, at 4:05 p.m., the Washington Nationals will host a sold-out exhibition game. To accommodate the crowds, Metrorail will operate some extra trains on the Green Line; however, trains are expected to be extremely crowded and Metro anticipates large crowds throughout the day at the Navy Yard, L’Enfant Plaza and Gallery Pl-Chinatown Metrorail stations.

Combined with Metrobus ridership, Metro provides more than 1.2 million trips on an average weekday.

Metrorail’s Top 5 Ridership Days

Date Ridership Event
1 01-20-09 1,120,000 Obama Inaugural
2 04-01-10 877,890 Cherry Blossoms/hockey
3 01-19-09 866,681 Obama Inaugural Activities
4 07-11-08 854,638 Baseball/Women of Faith
5 06-09-04 850,636 Reagan State Funeral

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News release issued at 9:39 am, April 2, 2010.