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Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Trains and Atlanta Streetcar 6/4/2024

Today we arose and after our Internet duties, checked out and went to Waffle House, where I had a waffle and bacon and Elizabeth had eggs, sausage and toast. She then drove us on Interstate 85 to Interstate 285, to Peachtree- Dunwoody Road to the MARTA North Springs station and parked for free. We went up to the platform and waited to board the train.

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority was started with a commitment to making public transit a reliable service — one that boosts economic development and enhances the lives of people across Metro Atlanta. Our story began in the 1950's when people first started to recognize the importance of Atlanta’s public transportation. They saw it as more than just a way to get people from point A to point B. They saw it as a vital part of the city's future growth.

Conversations changed to action in the 1960's when the Metropolitan Atlanta Transit Study Commission released its report recommending a five-county bus and rail system. The report prompted a wave of proposals for a revamped transit system. And in 1965, those proposals led to the passing of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority Act — or as we know it today: MARTA.

But we didn't put up 48 miles of rail and 740 bus stops overnight. It took nearly seven years of legislative and electoral work, along with a voter referendum, to gain the support we needed to make MARTA a reality. In 1972, we purchased the Atlanta Transit System, giving us full ownership of Atlanta’s main bus system. Within a year we saw ridership increase more than 20 percent across the board.

We spent the better part of the 1970's laying the groundwork for MARTA's rapid rail system. With more than $800 million in grant support from the federal government, we began operation of the East Line in 1979 — marking the start of our combined bus and rail service. By June 1996, we completed more than 20 major projects including the Airport rail line, the North Line, transit beyond the perimeter and a variety of improvements to our existing infrastructure.

However, providing Atlanta with better public transit is only half of the story. A substantial part of our work involves driving economic development in the communities around our city. That's why we've committed ourselves to Transit Oriented Development, beginning in the late 1990's with Lindbergh Center Station. The idea is simple: build walkable, livable communities that put everything riders could need within walking distance from MARTA. Today, these developments help us drive $1.4 billion in economic activity annually in Georgia.

Although the way we serve this city has changed over the years, our commitment remains the same. We believe public transportation is far more than a last resort. It's a chance to better serve the people and communities all throughout our city.

The Atlanta MARTA train that we boarded.

The MARTA map.

The Altanta Streetcar Map. We left and stopped at Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Medical Center, Buckhead, Art Center, Midtown, North Avenue, Civic Center, Peachtree Center, Five Points, Garnett, West End, Oakland City, Lakewood/Ft. McPherson, East Point, College Point and the Atlanta Airport station, which is the full length of the Red Line.

The train which took us back to Peachtree Center and our Red Line ride was over.

Testing for Atlanta Streetcar (also known as the Downtown Loop) began in summer 2014 with passenger service beginning as scheduled on December 30, 2014. In 2023, the line had 184,500 rides, or about 600 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Downtown Loop is the Phase 1 of the Atlanta Streetcar project, which is plan running to expand onto the BeltLine surrounding central Atlanta. The project is the first regular passenger streetcar service in Atlanta since the original Atlanta streetcars were phased out in 1949.

Groundbreaking for the project took place on February 1, 2012. At that time, the line was projected to open in May 2013, but various delays pushed the opening back, first to summer 2014 and later to December. The first two S70 streetcars were delivered in February 2014 and began test runs on the line in the spring. The initial 2.7 mile loop cost $98M which was almost $30M higher than originally projected.

The 2.7-mile loop opened for service on December 30, 2014, with all rides free until January 1, 2016.

By June 2018, MARTA agreed to take control and ownership of the streetcar; the route is planned to be integrated into a larger MARTA light rail system. Operations were placed under the control of the newly formed Office of Light Rail Operations on July 1, 2018.

Plans call for the Streetcar line to be extended along the Atlanta BeltLine. The first phase of expansion, known as the Streetcar East Extension, is currently in final design and scheduled to begin operation in 2028. The extension will see tracks extended east along Edgewood Avenue, Randolph Street and Auburn Avenuem then north along the BeltLine to Ponce City Market. The project is expected to cost $230 million, and is fully funded by the More MARTA tax, approved by voters in 2016. The City applied for a TIGER 7 grant in 2015 to fund the project, but was unsuccessful.

There are also plans to extend the streetcar to west to Bankhead MARTA Station.

Since opening for service, the Atlanta Streetcar has been criticized by officials and residents for its short route, safety, poor management, and lower-than-expected ridership. Although boosters have claimed that up to $2.5 billion worth of new development can be attributed to the streetcar, independent analysis shows that many of those projects (totaling at least $323 million) pre-date it, and others—such as the College Football Hall of Fame, had not taken the streetcar into consideration. Regardless, the streetcar has contributed to at least some economic growth; for example, Southeast Capital Companies stated that it directly influenced their decision to build residential housing near Edgewood Avenue, and the Atlantic Seafood Market saw business rise ten percent in the months following the start of service. In September 2015, officials from the Federal Transit Administration expressed concerns with the system's lack of safety, poor management and failure to comply with requirements for reporting accidents. Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed and MARTA CEO Keith Parker have laid out steps to address those issues.

On May 23, 2016, state officials sent a letter to (then mayor) Kasim Reed and MARTA CEO Keith Parker threatening to shut down the streetcar unless the city fixed numerous problems with it that had been outlined in multiple then-recent audits.

We detrained and looked for the streetcar signs and met a gentleman who led us up to ground level, opposite the library and a few minutes later, an Atlanta Streetcar came into view.

Atlanta Streetcar 1001 arrived at the Peachtree Center station and we boarded. We went to Carnegie at Spring and then Centennial Olympic Park.

The Olympic Rings from the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympic Games are on display. From Centennial Olympic Park station, we stopped at Luckie at Cone, Park Place, Hurt Place, Sweet Auburn Market, Edgewood at Hilliard, King Historic District, Dobbs Plaza, Auburn at Piedmont and Woodruff Park, then detrained at Peachtree Center station and returned to the MARTA Peachtree Center station.

We boarded this train and took it one stop to Five Points Station, where we would ride the Blue Line to Indian Creek.

We went upstairs to the correct platform and a few minutes later, here came a Blue Line train to Edgewood/Candler station.

Following the train that would take us to Indian Park. Our stops were Georgia State, King Memorial, Inman Park/Reynoldstown, Edgewood/Candler Park, East Lake, Decatur, Avondale, Kensington and Indian Creek, the end of the line. What is now called the Blue Line contains some of the first sections of MARTA rail to open. On February 19, 1975, construction on what was then known as the East Line began then on June 30, 1979, service on the East Line began operating between Avondale and Georgia State. On December 22 the same year, the West Line was opened between Five Points station and what was then known as Hightower station (now Hamilton E. Holmes station). The combined Hightower- Avondale route became known as the East-West Line.

On December 29, 1992, a branch (then known as the Proctor Creek Line) of the East-West Line to Bankhead station opened. The following year, on June 26, 1993, Kensington and Indian Creek stations on the East Line opened. This was the first time MARTA rail extended beyond Interstate 285. In 2009, MARTA introduced a color-coded system of naming for its rail lines. As a result, the former East-West Line became the Blue Line.

MARTA maintenance facility.

The train at Indian Creek. It started to pour as we left Indian Creek but we were always undercover or inside the train so the rain did not affect us. We took this train back to Five Points, stopping at GWCC/CNN Center, Vine City, Ashby, West Lake and then the end of this line at Hamilton E. Holmes station.

A MARTA Blue Line train at Hamilton E. Holmes, which we took back two stations in order to ride the segment of the Green Line to Bankhead.

The Green Line train arrived at Ashby. This line runs above ground, at-grade and below ground in various portions of its route, beginning at the western terminus of Bankhead station, paralleling Proctor Creek through West Atlanta. (This is the only portion of the Green Line not to share trackage with any other route). It is joined by the Blue Line before Ashby station. The Green Line enters downtown Atlanta, where it meets the Red and Gold Lines at Five Points station then continues into East Atlanta, where the Green Line reaches its eastern terminus at Edgewood/Candler Park station, while the Blue Line continues on to Indian Creek station.

The Green Line train at Five Points. We still had one last line to ride and boarded the Gold Line to Doraville. This line also runs above ground, at-grade and below ground but begins at the northeastern terminus, Doraville. It then goes southwestward paralleling Peachtree Road in DeKalb County and upon entering Atlanta in Buckhead, it crosses over the Red Line in the median of Georgia Highway 400 before joining the Red Line, going southwest paralleling Interstate 85. Then it turns south through Midtown and enters downtown Atlanta, where it meets the Blue and Green Lines at Five Points station. Leaving downtown, the Gold Line continues south, paralleling Lee Street and Main Street into East Point and College Park, before reaching its terminus at the Airport station.

Our train stopped at Lenox, Brookhaven/Oglethorpe and Chamblee then the end of the line at Doraville.

Our train at Doraville. On the way back I photographed Norfolk Southern locomotives that we passed on the way there.

Norfolk Southern C40-9W 9854 built by General Electric in 2004.

Norfolk Southern 7587 built by General Electric in 1987.

Norfolk Southern GP60 7122 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1996.

Norfolk Southern AC44C6M 4676 built by General Electric in 2016.

Norfolk Southern AC44C6M 4094 built by General Electric in 2018.

Norfolk Southern GP59ECO 4666 built by Electro-Motive Division in 2018.

We returned to Lindbergh Center, crossed the platform and here came a train on its way to North Springs. With that, we had completed riding all of the tracks of MARTA. We then drove to Gainesville and checked into the Fairfield Inn for the Railroad Station Historical Society Convention and had dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse with Doug Scott, Richard Shulby and Bill Holdsworth, who are members of both the Railroad Station Historical Society and the National Railway Historical Society. I wrote today's story this evening and we went to bed early as we had an early start tomorrow.

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