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MARTA rail

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MARTA Rapid Rail
MARTA CQ310 Gold train leaving Chamblee Station
Overview
Statusoperational
OwnerMARTA
LocaleAtlanta, Fulton and DeKalb Counties, Georgia
Termini
Stations38 (Five Points, 11 North, 4 Northeast, 7 South, 9 East, 5 West, 1 Proctor Creek)
Service
Typerapid transit
SystemMetropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Services
  Red Line
  Gold Line
  Blue Line
  Green Line
Operator(s)MARTA
History
Opened1979 (East-West)
1981 (North-South)
Technical
Line length48 miles (77 kilometers)
Track gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Highest elevationelevated, underground, at-grade

MARTA's heavy rail network is composed of four service lines: the Red, Gold, Blue, and Green Lines. The Red and Gold Lines mainly run along the North-Northeast corridor, and the Blue and Green Lines run along the West-East corridor. The two corridors connect at the Five Points station and is the only station where all four lines could transfer.

Rail System

Map of the MARTA rail system

The Red and Gold lines split north of the Lindbergh Center Station (stop N6). Northbound trains are identified by their destinations (North Springs or Doraville) on electronic LCD signs on the front and sides of the train and on each car. An automated announcement system announces train destinations, connections to bus routes at each station, connections to other rail lines, and other landmarks that apply to each rail station. During daytime hours, trains from both lines service the entire trunk line (N6 to S7); all southbound trains are identified with a destination of Airport. After 8:30pm on weekdays and 8:50pm on weekends, only Doraville bound trains service N6 to S7. As a result, riders must transfer to or from a North Springs train at Lindbergh Center (N6).

The Blue and Green lines split at Ashby Station (stop W3). Trains are identified by their final destination. Trains from H.E. Holmes (W5) travel to Indian Creek Station (E9). Normally, trains originating at Bankhead Station (stop P4) travel to Edgewood/Candler Park Station (stop E4). After 8:30pm on weekdays and 8:50pm on weekends, trains originating at Bankhead Station only go so far as Vine City Station (stop W2).

MARTA switched to a color-based naming system in October 2009. Previous maps of the MARTA system use orange to label the North-South line and blue to label the East-West line. Newer maps currently appear on trains, at stations, and on the system's website to further differentiate the different branches of the North-South and East-West Corridors with different colors (North Springs/Airport-red, Doraville/Airport-gold, H.E. Holmes-Indian Creek-blue, Proctor Creek/Edgewood-green).

Many suburban stations offer designated free daily and paid long term parking in MARTA operated park and ride lots. These stations also have designated kiss ride passenger drop off parking spaces closest to the stations' entrances.

Operation

The MARTA rail system operates between approximately 5 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Headways per line consist of 10 minutes weekdays during rush hour and 12 minutes during midday, and 20 minutes nightly and weekends. In the case of two routes operating on the same tracks, headways decrease to 5 minutes during rush hour and 6 minutes during midday and 10 minutes on the weekends during the day. All rail lines operate 20 minutes during late night (8:30pm weekdays, 8:50pm weekends) mainly in part due to the Red Line only running from North Springs to Lindbergh Center stations; likewise with the Green Line from Bankhead to Vine City. Due to an ongoing rail system maintenance program, weekend headways are variable and may range from the normal 20 minutes to as much as 24 minutes, with the Green and Red lines occasionally being truncated all weekend. During weekends in the latter case, headways along the shared lines will increase from 10 minutes to 20 minutes[1]

Before budget cuts in 2005 affected the rail system, MARTA originally operated trains every eight minutes during the day on weekdays on each route, with the North-South Line operating on a combined four-minute headway between Lindbergh Center and Airport stations on the trunk. On Saturdays, it was every ten minutes (five minutes combined on the North-South Line trunk), and on Sundays it was every 15 minutes (7.5 minutes on the North-South Line trunk). At night, trains operated every 15 minutes.[2]

Stations

Red and Gold lines
Legend
 Red 
N11
 North Springs Parking
N10
 Sandy Springs Parking
N9
 Dunwoody Parking
I-285.svg I-285
N8
 Medical Center Parking
N7
 Buckhead
 Gold 
NE10
 Doraville Parking
NE9
 Chamblee Parking
NE8
 Brookhaven/​Oglethorpe Parking
NE7
 Lenox Parking
Georgia 400.svg SR 400
N6
 Lindbergh Center Parking
Armour Yard
 Armour Yards
I-85.svg I-85
N5
 Arts Center
N4
 Midtown
N3
 North Avenue
N2
 Civic Center
N1
 Peachtree Center Atlanta Streetcar
Atlanta
Streetcar
0
 Five Points
Blue
Green
S1
 Garnett
I-20.svg I-20
S2
 West End Parking
Murphy Crossing
S3
 Oakland City Parking
S4
 Lakewood/​Fort McPherson Parking
S5
 East Point Parking
S6
 College Park Parking
South Yard & Shops
I-85.svg I-85
Red
Gold
S7
 Airport enlarge… Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport Parking
Key
Red Line
Gold Line
Red/Gold
Blue/Green
Yard tracks
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible
Blue and Green lines
Legend
 Blue 
W5
 Hamilton E. Holmes Parking
I-20.svg I-20
W4
 West Lake Parking
 Green 
P4
 Bankhead
Joseph E. Boone
W3
 Ashby Parking
W2
 Vine City Parking
W1
 GWCC/​CNN Center
0
 Five Points
Red
Gold
E1
 Georgia State
I-75.svgI-85.svg I-75 /
I-85
Downtown Connector
E2
 King Memorial Parking
Krog Street/Hulsey Yard
E3
 Inman Park/​Reynoldstown Parking
 Green 
E4
 Edgewood/​Candler Park Parking
E5
 East Lake Parking
E6
 Decatur
E7
 Avondale Parking
Avondale Yard
E8
 Kensington Parking
I-285.svg I-285
 Blue 
E9
 Indian Creek Parking
Key
Blue Line
Green Line
Blue/Green
(weekdays)
Blue/Green
(all days)
Red/Gold
Yard tracks
Handicapped/disabled access All stations are accessible
  • † denotes a terminal station
  • Until 1994, the NE codes were plain N codes
Station Code Lines Jurisdiction Opened Station Entries/Day (2013)[3] Reference
Airport† S7     Atlanta June 18, 1988 9,173 [4]
Arts Center N5     Atlanta December 18, 1982 6,605 [5]
Ashby W3     Atlanta December 22, 1979 1,791 [6]
Avondale E7   Decatur June 30, 1979 4,327 [7]
Bankhead† P4   Atlanta December 12, 1992 1,903 [8]
Brookhaven/Oglethorpe NE8   Brookhaven December 15, 1984 2,357 [9]
Buckhead N7   Atlanta June 8, 1996 2,643 [10]
Chamblee NE9   Chamblee December 19, 1987 3,785 [11]
Civic Center N2     Atlanta December 4, 1981 2,692 [5]
College Park S6     College Park June 18, 1988 9,026 [4]
Decatur E6   Decatur June 30, 1979 3,821 [7]
Dome/GWCC/Philips Arena/CNN Center W1     Atlanta December 22, 1979 2,107 [6]
Doraville† NE10   Doraville December 12, 1992 5,521 [8]
Dunwoody N9   Dunwoody June 8, 1996 3,545 [10]
East Lake E5   Atlanta June 30, 1979 1,241 [7]
East Point S5     East Point August 16, 1986 4,571 [12]
Edgewood/Candler Park E4     Atlanta June 30, 1979 1,143 [7]
Five Points* –         Atlanta December 22, 1979 (East–West)
December 4, 1981 (North–South) 		19,447 [7]
Garnett S1     Atlanta December 4, 1981 1,516 [5]
Georgia State E1     Atlanta June 30, 1979 4,055 [7]
H. E. Holmes† W5   Atlanta December 22, 1979 6,480 [6]
Indian Creek† E9   Stone Mountain June 26, 1993 5,612 [13]
Inman Park/Reynoldstown E3     Atlanta June 30, 1979 2,525 [7]
Kensington E8   Decatur June 26, 1993 5,950 [13]
King Memorial E2     Atlanta June 30, 1979 1,517 [7]
Lakewood/Fort McPherson S4     Atlanta December 15, 1984 2,207 [9]
Lenox NE7   Atlanta December 15, 1984 3,284 [9]
Lindbergh Center N6     Atlanta December 15, 1984 8,604 [9]
Medical Center N8   Sandy Springs June 8, 1996 1,629 [10]
Midtown N4     Atlanta December 18, 1982 5,664 [5]
North Avenue N3     Atlanta December 4, 1981 5,045 [5]
North Springs† N11   Sandy Springs December 16, 2000 6,436 [14]
Oakland City S3     Atlanta December 15, 1984 4,432 [9]
Peachtree Center N1     Atlanta September 11, 1982 7,453 [5]
Sandy Springs N10   Sandy Springs December 16, 2000 2,322 [14]
Vine City W2     Atlanta December 22, 1979 821 [6]
West End S2     Atlanta September 11, 1982 7,056 [5]
West Lake W4   Atlanta December 22, 1979 1,378 [6]

Historical timeline

This is a list of key dates which led to the formation of the MARTA stations along the established rapid rail lines.[15]

  • June 30, 1979 – MARTA's first train, the East Line, began operating between Avondale and Five Points Station. It also marked the start of MARTA's combined bus and rail service.
  • December 22, 1979 – MARTA's second train, the West Line, began operating between Hightower (H.E. Holmes) and Five Points Station.
  • September 1982 – the Peachtree Center and West End stations, along the North Line began service.
  • December 1982 – the Arts Center and Midtown stations began service.
  • December 1984 – five new stations opened: Lindbergh Center, Lenox, Brookhaven, Oakland City and Lakewood/Fort McPherson. The South Line was introduced.
  • August 1986 – the East Point Station opened, extending the South Line by about two miles. A little more than a year later, the Chamblee Station began service and served as the temporary end of the Northeast Line.
  • June 18, 1988 – the Airport Station opens, and becomes the southern terminus of the North-South Line.
  • December 12, 1992 – The Bankhead Station/Proctor Creek Line went into service.
  • December 29, 1992 – The Doraville Station opens and becomes the northern terminus of the Northeast Line.
  • June 26, 1993 – MARTA extended East Line services through Kensington to Indian Creek Station – the first time the rail line went beyond the I-285 perimeter.
  • June 8, 1996 – MARTA extended North Line services through Buckhead, Medical Center and Dunwoody Stations.
  • 1999 – MARTA announced a partnership with BellSouth to create the Lindbergh Transit Oriented Development (TOD), a live, work and play community built around a rail station and the largest multi-use development of its kind in the United States at the time.
  • December 16, 2000 – MARTA opened two new rail stations – Sandy Springs and North Springs – on the North Line.
  • October 1, 2009 – MARTA renames its lines based on colors instead of directions.
  • February 2010 – MARTA agrees to rename the Yellow Line as the Gold Line in response to outcry from members of the Doraville Asian community.[16]
  • MARTA rail station sign
    MARTA rail station sign
  • Southbound train at Civic Center (N2) Station
    Southbound train at Civic Center (N2) Station
  • Peachtree Center (N1) Station
    Peachtree Center (N1) Station
  • Decatur (E6) Station
    Decatur (E6) Station
  • MARTA kiss ride sign
    MARTA kiss ride sign

See also

References

  1. ^ http://itsmarta.com/single-tracking.aspx
  2. ^ http://web.archive.org/web/20010331185518/http://www.itsmarta.com/riding/rail_sch.htm
  3. ^ "2014 Transportation Fact Book" (PDF). Atlanta Regional Commission. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b Roughton, Jr., Bert (June 18, 1988). "Rail-to-air link completed with opening of airport station". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. A1.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Beasley, David; Kathey Alexander (February 23, 1992). "After two decades, MARTA's course uncertain". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. A1.
  6. ^ a b c d e AP Reporters (December 21, 1979). "Atlanta Rapid rail opens second leg". The Rock Hill Herald. p. 14.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Hairston, Julie B. (June 30, 2004). "MARTA marks 25 years of trains: Next stop unknown". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B1.
  8. ^ a b Beasley, David (December 6, 1992). "MARTA trains to roll at Bankhead, Doraville". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. E15.
  9. ^ a b c d e AJC Editorial Staff (May 16, 1985). "Atlanta's air, rail transportation among nation's best". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. E5.
  10. ^ a b c Goldberg, David (June 8, 1996). "Suburban transit – North Line worth risk for MARTA". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. E2.
  11. ^ Roughton, Jr., Bert (December 20, 1987). "MARTA officials open Chamblee rail station amid union protests". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B3.
  12. ^ Roughton, Jr., Bert (August 17, 1986). "East Point starts a new era – First MARTA train pulls in as city observes 99th year". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B1.
  13. ^ a b Beasley, David (June 25, 1993). "Transit expansion – MARTA on the move – New stations push rail system beyond the Perimeter". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. D1.
  14. ^ a b Shelton, Stacy (December 18, 2000). "MARTA christens 2 new stations – North Fulton riders report few problems". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. B1.
  15. ^ Douglas Sams. [1] Atlanta Business Chronicle, June 6, 2008
  16. ^ "Atlanta's 'yellow' train line changed after outcry". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta: Cox Media Group, Inc. 2010-02-11. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
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