Atlanta, Georgia
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Atlanta, Georgia |
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By Robert Ferreira (about) (contact)
MapsTrack Map OverviewThe Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority operates the subway and bus system in the City of Atlanta, Fulton and DeKalb counties. The rail system currently has 36 stations with 46 route miles. MARTA carries about 250,000 rail passengers on weekdays. Fare is $1.50 ($1.75 beginning Jan. 1, 2001) one way. Single rides are usually tokens and daily, weekly, monthly and tourist passes are available. All trains are controlled by Automatic Train Control. An operator at the front of the train controls the doors and makes station announcements. Each line runs at 8 minute intervals, translating into 4 minute headways on main line portions of routes. During special events trains may run as little as 2 minute headways. The system is open from approximately 5:00 am to 1:00 am on weekdays and from 5:00 to 12:30 am on weekends and holidays. Major events can and have required MARTA to run 24 hours a day. The system is made up of four lines: North-South, Northeast-South, East-West, and Proctor Creek lines. Routes are not referred to by the color on the map. The North-South line is typically called the North Springs line, and the Northeast-South line is usually called the Doraville line. All southbound trains terminate at the Airport. East-West trains run from Hamilton E. Holmes to Indian Creek. Trains on the Proctor Creek line typically run from Bankhead to King Memorial. At night, this line terminates at Vine City. The Lines, Station by Station
Timeline
1960's PlanIn the 1960's, the Atlanta Regional Metropolitan Planning Commission planned that MARTA would have routes which are similar to the routes that exist today. The original plan called for lines that extended from Five Points the outer reaches of Atlanta at the time. The total mileage of this system would be 66 miles and would have been completed by 1980. One line, the Northeast Line, would go to Norcross, about seven miles northeast of the present-day Doraville station. Another line, the Northwest Line, would go to Marietta, about 20 miles northwest of Five Points. The South line would extend all the way to Forest Park, a city a few miles southeast of Hartsfield International Airport. The East-West line would stretch to I-285, on the east and west sides of Atlanta. A spur off the East line going in a northeast direction would go to an area called North Druid Hills, about halfway between the Northeast and East rail lines. Norcross, Marietta and Forest Park are in Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton counties, respectively. These counties voted not to have MARTA run in their counties, so rail lines were not built there. In 1968, Fulton and Dekalb counties voted not to have MARTA, but in 1971 both counties approved a 1% sales tax that would fund MARTA construction. At this time a spur off the West line to Bankhead was planned. 1979 PlanMARTA finally opened in 1979 with just the East line segment completed. At this time, the future plans for MARTA were different than in the 1960's. These plans were almost identical to the current day system. Some of the differences between the 1960's plans and the 1979 plan was that the Northwest line to Marietta was cut back to just two stations north of Arts Center. A provision for this line was constructed the tunnel north of Arts Center, there are no tracks in these stub tunnels. The northeast line was cut back to Doraville, about two miles from Gwinnett county. The South line would end at the Airport instead of going to Forest Park. Another plan was a Hapeville branch, just south of East Point, on the South line. This line would have terminated at around the east side of the Airport. The Hapeville branch probably would have went to Forest Park if the 60's plan had been implemented. The East-West line would have been almost the same as it is today, except that there would be one more station on the West line called Fairburn Rd. Evidence of this planned extension can be seen in the fact that Hamilton E. Holmes station, the present day terminal, has side platforms, island platforms are generally more appropriate for terminal stations. Another extension would be off the Bankhead (Procter Creek) Branch, to Perry Homes. The East line would have a spur with two stations called the Tucker-North Dekalb line to North Druid Hills. The spur would have been in between Edgewood-Candler Park and East Lake. There is a three track section between these two stations which would have been used for this spur. Two busways were planned. One would go from Lindbergh Center to Sandy Springs. This has now been built as the North line of the system. Another busway would have went from Edgewood-Candler Park to Thomasville, south of the station. This busway has not been built, nor are there any plans to do so. Other Proposals and Current Future PlansOver the years, other proposals for rail lines have come and gone. One proposal that was on the table was a line to Lithonia, on the east side of town. This line would have gone from Edgewood, turned south until I-20, then followed the interstate for about nine miles. This proposal died in 1999 by neighborhood activists saying that the line would divide their neighborhood in half. The Tucker-North Dekalb line also died in 1999 for the same reason. At one point a light rail line was considered as an alternative for the North Druid Hills area. The line would have run from Lindbergh Center to Edgewood-Candler Park. There is a light rail proposal for Midtown which most likely will be built and completed by 2003. This line would run from the Arts Center station, go west across a currently unbuilt bridge over I-75/85 to the Atlantic Steel Redevelopment, on the west side of Midtown. The developers of Atlantic Steel are pushing hard to get this light rail approved. The light rail line may also be extended by turning south past the Redevelopment and heading towards Omni/Dome/GWCC station. This would bring rail transit to the west side of Midtown and Downtown. It is not yet known whether MARTA or another agency will run it. Currently, there are two major extensions on the drawing board. The MARTA board in February 2000 approved two extensions. The first extension, with the highest priority is the West line extension to Fulton Industrial Boulevard, about four miles. This would complete the 1979 West line plan. The right-of -way already exists and construction can start once federal funding is approved. The other extension, with a lower priority is a North line extension to Windward Parkway, about 11 miles north of the North Springs station. This extension has three stations planned so far. Environmental studies must still be done before construction can begin. A little known extension plan is for another station at Hartsfield Airport. The airport is currently planning another terminal south of the current ones, and the plans call for a provision for a MARTA station in the new terminal. The date for this station is unknown. A full discussion and illustrated list of Provisions for Future Extensions is available. Car Roster
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