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Metro ridership tops 1 million, sets Saturday record

The Associated Press

January 22, 2017, 12:10 PM

The line to get into the Ballston Metro station to make it to the Women's March on Washington in D.C. Saturday morning, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
The line to get into the Ballston Metro station to make it to the Women’s March on Washington in D.C. Saturday morning, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
The scene outside Wiehle Reston Metro around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (Courtesy Gretchen Gyrich)
The scene outside Wiehle Reston Metro around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (Courtesy Gretchen Gyrich)
Courtesy Gretchen Gyrich
Crowds flood L'Enfant Plaza Metro station as people head toward the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (Courtesy Lauren Dunne)
Crowds flood L’Enfant Plaza Metro station as people head toward the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (Courtesy Lauren Dunne)
Courtesy Lauren Dunne
Crowds of people fill L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, chanting "Fired up, ready to go" as they head toward the Women's March on Washington Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Crowds of people fill L’Enfant Plaza Metro station, chanting “Fired up, ready to go” as they head toward the Women’s March on Washington Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
A sea of pink hat-wearing people ride the train toward the Women's March on Washington. Trains began to fill up at Union Station around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day of the march. (WTOP/Max Smith)
A sea of pink hat-wearing people ride the train toward the Women’s March on Washington. Trains began to fill up at Union Station around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day of the march. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
There wasn't much room on the trains as people headed into downtown D.C. for the Women's March on Washington. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
There isn’t much room on the trains as people head into downtown D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
WTOP/Dennis Foley
This time-lapsed video shows thick crowds piling into a Red Line train at Metro Center following the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith) (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
Thick crowds slowly stream out of the L'Enfant station en route to the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Crowds slowly trickle out of the L’Enfant station en route to the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
This was the line to the fare gates on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Transit officials say ridership topped 1 million, setting a record. Hudreds of thousands of people were in Washington, D.C. for the Women's March on Washington. (WTOP/Max Smith)
This was the line to the fare gates on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Hundreds of thousands of people were in D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington. Transit officials say ridership topped 1 million, setting a record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
Crowds pack a Blue Line train headed toward the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Transit officials say ridership topped 1 million, setting a record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Crowds pack a Blue Line train headed toward the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Transit officials say ridership topped 1 million, setting a record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
Metro says ridership on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, topped 1 million, setting a Saturday record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Metro says rail ridership on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, topped 1 million, setting a Saturday record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
Participants for the Women's March on Washington pack a Red Line train on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Metro officials said ridership reached a record 1 million. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Participants pack a Red Line train headed toward the Women’s March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Metro officials said ridership reached a record 1 million. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
Large crowds from the Women's March on Washington pack the platform for Blue, Orange and Silver Line trains at Metro Center on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Large crowds from the pack the platform for Blue, Orange and Silver Line trains at Metro Center on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017 following the Women’s March on Washington. (WTOP/Max Smith)
WTOP/Max Smith
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The line to get into the Ballston Metro station to make it to the Women's March on Washington in D.C. Saturday morning, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
The scene outside Wiehle Reston Metro around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (Courtesy Gretchen Gyrich)
Crowds flood L'Enfant Plaza Metro station as people head toward the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (Courtesy Lauren Dunne)
Crowds of people fill L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, chanting "Fired up, ready to go" as they head toward the Women's March on Washington Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
A sea of pink hat-wearing people ride the train toward the Women's March on Washington. Trains began to fill up at Union Station around 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, the day of the march. (WTOP/Max Smith)
There wasn't much room on the trains as people headed into downtown D.C. for the Women's March on Washington. (WTOP/Dennis Foley)
Thick crowds slowly stream out of the L'Enfant station en route to the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)
This was the line to the fare gates on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Transit officials say ridership topped 1 million, setting a record. Hudreds of thousands of people were in Washington, D.C. for the Women's March on Washington. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Crowds pack a Blue Line train headed toward the Women's March on Washington on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Transit officials say ridership topped 1 million, setting a record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Metro says ridership on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, topped 1 million, setting a Saturday record. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Participants for the Women's March on Washington pack a Red Line train on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. Metro officials said ridership reached a record 1 million. (WTOP/Max Smith)
Large crowds from the Women's March on Washington pack the platform for Blue, Orange and Silver Line trains at Metro Center on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. (WTOP/Max Smith)

WASHINGTON — Transportation officials in Washington say more than a million trips were taken on the city’s rail system Saturday — a tally that is hundreds of thousands more than on Inauguration Day and sets a Saturday record.

Metro officials said Saturday was the busiest in Metro’s history. The transit agency tweeted Sunday that 1,001,616 trips were taken on the rail system on Saturday, the day of the Women’s March on Washington.

Metro spokesman Dan Stessel had said that on Friday, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration, just over 570,000 trips were taken on the rail system.

Saturday’s ridership number topped the previous Saturday ridership record set in 2010 on the day of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear hosted by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. More than 825,000 trips were taken that day.

In an emailed statement on Sunday, Metro General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said Metro trains, buses and paratransit logged more than 2 million trips between Friday and Saturday. Metrorail accounted for 1.6 million of those trips.

WTOP’s Tiffany Arnold contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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