It’s getting a lot easier to find a seat on the LIRR.

In 2009, the nation’s busiest commuter railroad saw the largest year-to-year drop in ridership since the 1970s.

Its 83 million riders were down from 87 million in 2008 — largely due to the recession and steep job losses in New York City, officials said. The decrease cost the railroad $27 million in fares.

Still, the LIRR recently completed work on a modern-looking Atlantic Avenue Terminal in Downtown Brooklyn. And plans to link the LIRR with Grand Central Terminal are well under way.

LIRR officials estimate that would deliver 180,000 riders a day to Manhattan’s East Side by 2016.