Metro Transit's rail lines set ridership record in 2017

Last year, Metro Transit served a record number of riders across all three of its rail lines in and around the Twin Cities.

The agency logged a record 13.1 million rides on the Green Line light-rail route, along with a record 10.7 million rides on Blue Line light-rail trains. Ridership on the latter line topped the previous high-water mark set in 2015.

Ridership on the Green Line grew 3.5 percent from 2016's number, while Blue Line ridership increased almost 4 percent year over year.

What's more, ridership on the Northstar commuter-rail line soared almost 12 percent to 794,000 rides. That figure broke a record set in 2013, Metro Transit officials said in a "Rider's Almanac" blog post.

The three rail lines now constitute 31 percent of all rides on Metro Transit, said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin.

"This is another piece of strong evidence that rail investment is good for the Twin Cities," he said.

Meanwhile, Metro Transit's bus ridership fell 2 percent last year. In addition, the agency reported total ridership of 81.9 million, marking a slight decrease from 82.6 million rides in 2016.