MARTA rail

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) Rail System

Company type	Public transit
Industry	Public transportation
Founded	1979
Headquarters	Atlanta , United States
Area served	Metro Atlanta
Owner	Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Website	itsmarta.com

The MARTA rail system, an integral component of the MARTA network in Metro Atlanta, consists of four distinct lines: the Red, Gold, Blue, and Green. The Red and Gold lines traverse the North-Northeast corridor, whereas the Blue and Green lines run along the West-East corridor. These two corridors converge exclusively at Five Points station, which serves as the only transfer hub for all four lines. In , MARTA reported an annual ridership totaling , with an average weekday usage of approximately as of .

Rail system

Train identification is based on their destinations, complemented by automated announcements that inform passengers about train routes, connecting transit options, and nearby points of interest.

Stations carry additional identifiers indicating their relative position and direction from the central Five Points station. For instance, Lindbergh Center is designated as the sixth stop north of Five Points (N6). Moving northeast from Lindbergh along the Gold Line, stations adopt the NE prefix with sequential numbering; thus, Lenox is marked NE7. The Bankhead station, situated on a branch diverging from the main east-west line, holds the designation P4, a nod to its original Proctor Creek name associated with the Green Line.

During daytime service, the Red and Gold lines cover the full north-south trunk before splitting north of Lindbergh Center (N6). Electronic LCD displays on trains indicate their destinations. After 9 p.m., the Red Line operates as a shuttle between North Springs (N11) and Lindbergh Center, where passengers can transfer seamlessly to the Gold Line.

The Blue and Green lines share track along the east-west trunk between Ashby (W3) and Edgewood–Candler Park (E4). From there, the Blue Line extends to H.E. Holmes (W5), while the Green Line branches off to serve Bankhead Station (P4) before terminating at Edgewood–Candler Park. Post-9 p.m., the Green Line functions as a shuttle between Bankhead and Vine City (W2); on weekends prior to 9 p.m., it short-turns at King Memorial.

Historically, MARTA used orange to represent North-South routes and blue for East-West ones. In October 2009, a color-coded system was introduced: for example, what was known as the Proctor Creek or Bankhead-Edgewood line became the Green Line. The previously named Yellow Line serving Doraville was rebranded as the Gold Line in 2010 following community input.

Many suburban stations provide complimentary daily parking and paid long-term options within MARTA-operated park-and-ride facilities. Additionally, designated kiss-and-ride zones are located near station entrances for passenger drop-offs.

Operation

Service hours for MARTA rail run roughly from 4:45 a.m. to 1 a.m. on weekdays, with weekend operations starting at 6 a.m. and continuing until 1 a.m.

System headways (April 2025)

Timeframe		Headway (minutes)
Weekday	Daytime (6 AM – 7 PM)	10
	Non-rush	12
	Night (9 PM+)	20
Weekends		15

Initially, MARTA maintained train intervals of eight minutes on weekdays, effectively reducing to four minutes on the North-South trunk due to combined routes. Saturdays featured ten-minute headways (five minutes combined), Sundays fifteen-minute intervals (7.5 minutes combined), and night service every 15 minutes.

Following budget reductions in 2005, headways increased by 25 to 50 percent: rush hour intervals extended to ten minutes, middays to twelve minutes, and nights and weekends to twenty minutes. Combined services lowered these figures to five minutes during peak times and six minutes midday. Late-night operations were curtailed with shortened runs on Red and Green Lines.

During the COVID-19 crisis, headways expanded to fifteen minutes on weekdays and twenty minutes during other periods. In August 2023, MARTA enhanced service frequency to twelve-minute intervals during peak hours, with six-minute headways on shared segments. By December 2024, schedules reverted to pre-pandemic standards: ten-minute headways during rush hours and twelve minutes off-peak on weekdays.

Ongoing rail maintenance throughout 2024 caused weekend headways to fluctuate between twenty and twenty-four minutes, with up to eighty percent of weekends experiencing truncated Green and Red Line service. This resulted in shared-line intervals increasing from ten to twenty minutes on affected weekends.

In April 2025, MARTA announced enhancements restoring weekend frequencies to fifteen-minute intervals, ensuring that Red Line trains serve Airport station continuously.

Stations

• † indicates a terminal station
• Prior to 1994, the NE codes were labeled as N

Station	Code	Lines	Jurisdiction	Structure	Opened	Entries/day (2013)	Ref.
Airport†	S		College Park	Elevated		9,173
Arts Center	N		Atlanta	Subterranean		6,605
Ashby	W		Atlanta	Subterranean		1,791
Avondale	E		Decatur	At-grade		4,327
Bankhead†	P		Atlanta	Elevated		1,903
Brookhaven/Oglethorpe	NE		Brookhaven	Elevated		2,357
Buckhead	N		Atlanta	At-grade		2,643
Chamblee	NE		Chamblee, Georgia	Elevated		3,785
Civic Center	N		Atlanta	Combination underground and elevated		2,692
College Park	S		College Park, Georgia	Open-cut trench		9,026
Decatur station	E ... Rolling stock MARTA's fleet includes 312 married pair railcars capable of reaching speeds up to , powered through an electrified third rail. Train lengths vary from two to eight cars; six-car trains are standard on the Blue, Red, and Gold lines, while the Green line operates two-car sets due to platform constraints. MARTA rail fleet Type Manufacturer Image Fleet # Years Quantity built Constructed In service Traction motors Notes CQ310 Société Franco-Belge 101–200 1979–1981 98 1976–1980 94 Adtranz/Bombardier MITRAC 1508C Units 111/112 modified as work cars; 101/102 operate unpaired; 103/104 retired following a 2019 derailment. — 501–520 20 0 Withdrawn in 2006 and stored pending CQ400 delivery. Cars 509 and 510 preserved in museums. Several units disposed of via reefing off Georgia's coast. CQ311 Hitachi 201–320 1984–1988 120 1982–1985 118 Extended service life by Kinki Sharyo; two units scrapped due to damage. CQ312 AnsaldoBreda 601–664, 667–702 2001–2005 100 1998–2000 98 Ordered from Breda prior to AnsaldoBreda merger; cars numbered 665/666 re-designated as 701/702; retired units reefed in 2023. CQ400 Stadler Rail Template:TBA 2025– 254 on order plus 100 options 2020–present 0 "Planned entry into service in 2025; intended to replace the entire existing fleet." In 2002, MARTA awarded a $246 million contract to Alstom for refurbishing CQ310 and CQ311 railcars, which included upgrades to passenger features, propulsion systems, and train control technology. This modernization was finalized in February 2009. Alstom also received a $117 million contract in 2011 to enhance MARTA’s train control and SCADA systems. This upgrade improved operational performance, communication capabilities, system monitoring, and lowered maintenance expenses. All vehicles were fitted with advanced Fault Identification and Monitoring Systems (FIMS) and full-color driver interfaces developed by Quester Tangent Corporation, completing testing by 2015. On December 1, 2017, MARTA revealed a $146 million "Rail Car Life Extension Program" agreement with Kinki Sharyo International LLC, officially signed on January 26, 2018. The initial phase includes refurbishing up to 118 railcars with options for additional units. On March 29, 2019, Stadler Rail secured a contract to deliver as many as 354 new CQ400 railcars. These will replace all existing CQ310, CQ311, and CQ312 vehicles while expanding the fleet starting in the year 2025. Historical timeline Significant events marking the expansion of MARTA's rapid transit lines are as follows: On June 30, 1979, the inaugural East Line commenced operations between Avondale and Georgia State, initiating integrated bus and rail services. The West Line became operational on December 22, 1979, connecting H.E. Holmes to Five Points Station. December 4, 1981, saw the opening of North Line stations including Garnett, Civic Center, North Avenue, and the north-south platform at Five Points. Peachtree Center and West End stations on the North Line began service on September 11, 1982. The Arts Center and Midtown stations started functioning on December 18, 1982. Launching on December 15, 1984, the South Line introduced five new stations: Lindbergh Center, Lenox, Brookhaven, Oakland City, and Lakewood/Fort McPherson. The South Line was extended by two miles with the opening of East Point Station on August 16, 1986. Chamblee Station opened as a temporary endpoint for the Northeast Line on December 19, 1987. Airport Station became the southern terminus of the North-South Line on June 18, 1988. The Bankhead Station/Proctor Creek Line was inaugurated on December 12, 1992. Doraville Station opened as the northern terminus of the Northeast Line on December 29, 1992. On June 26, 1993, the East Line was extended beyond I-285 to reach Indian Creek Station. The North Line expanded with the addition of Buckhead, Medical Center, and Dunwoody Stations on June 8, 1996. In 1999, MARTA partnered with BellSouth to develop the Lindbergh Transit Oriented Development (TOD), an innovative live-work-play community centered around a rail station. Sandy Springs and North Springs Stations were launched on the North Line on December 16, 2000. MARTA transitioned from directional names to color-coded lines on October 1, 2009. Following input from Doraville’s Asian community, the Yellow Line was renamed the Gold Line in February 2010. On March 25, 2024, Mayor Andre Dickens revealed plans for four new infill stations including Murphy Crossing along the BeltLine’s Westside corridor. Locations for three additional infill stations at Krog Street/Hulsey Yard, Joseph E. Boone, and Armour Yards were announced on April 11, 2024. See also Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority References