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With Government Open, Ridership Up On Metro, VRE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Officials with Metro and Virginia Railway Express say ridership on subway and commuter trains appears to be back to normal now that the federal government is open.

Metrorail experienced about a 20 percent drop in ridership during the shutdown, costing the transit agency a few hundred thousand dollars a day. Metro spokesman Dan Stessel says the agency lost millions of dollars, although a final figure isn't available.

Stessel says ridership through 11 a.m. Thursday was up 19 percent from the same time Thursday of last week, suggesting that ridership was on target to return to pre-shutdown levels.

A VRE spokesman says ridership is projected at 19,650 for Thursday, which is comparable to riders on Thursdays last month. Ridership had been down nearly 30 percent during the shutdown.

(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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