WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) said it was increasing the frequency of Metro train runs on its Red Line, beginning Feb. 21.

Starting February 21, trains will run every 8 minutes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Metro officials have noted that these midweek days are when trains have been the fullest. The transit system says, as ridership rebounds from its pandemic dip, commuting patterns have changed.

Rail ridership data from December 2022 showed, on average, there were approximately 250,000 entries each day.

On Mondays and Fridays, Red Line trains will continue to run every eight minutes during the morning and evening rush and every 10 minutes at all other times until 9 p.m.

Earlier in February, WMATA boosted its midweek service for the Blue, Orange and Blue Plus lines during the morning and evening rush hour periods, increasing train frequency from 15 minutes to 12 minutes from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Between Rosslyn and Stadium-Armory, where stations are served by multiple lines, trains will run every 4 minutes.

“The combined improvements provide customers with better, more frequent service throughout the system with 70 percent of all mid-week rush hour trips served by a train every eight minutes or less,” metro officials said in a statement.