Link Light Rail record shattered after new stations open

What does it take to beat the all-time Link Light Rail single-day ridership record in Seattle — the record set by Seahawks fans celebrating the 2014 Super Bowl win?

Add two new light rail stations at Capitol Hill and the University District. Then add swarms of Mariners fans coming into town for the season’s home opener, and top it off with hordes of costumed nerds (see author) headed into Seattle for the Emerald City Comicon.

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Sound Transit recently released estimates for March 18 to April 10. The initial numbers indicate that ridership on the region’s light rail jumped by 66 percent in the three weeks after the two new Seattle stations opened, surpassing expectations. The previous weekday average before the light rail extended to the University of Washington was 35,000. The weekday average has now jumped to an estimated 51,800.

Six of those days surpassed 60,000 daily riders. A new single-day ridership record was set on Friday, April 8 with more than 72,000 riders. The previous record was held on February 5, 2014 with a total of 71,500 estimated riders — when Seattle celebrated the Seahawks Super Bowl win. Sound Transit notes that the Mariners home opener, along with the popularity of the Emerald City Comicon, helped push the April 8 numbers to a new record.

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