MARTA rail


The MARTA rail network, a component of the MARTA transit system in Metro Atlanta, has 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, which is the only station where transfers are possible between all four lines. In, the system had a ridership of, or about per weekday as of.

Rail system

All trains are identified by their destinations, and an automated announcement system announces train destinations, bus and other transit connections, and landmarks that are at or near each rail station.
Each station also has a secondary designation that provides the cardinal direction and relative distance from the central Five Points station. For instance, Lindbergh Center is the sixth station from Five Points traveling north, and has the secondary designation. Northeast of Lindbergh Center on the Gold Line, stations are designated with NE while continuing the numbering, so Lenox is. Similarly, Bankhead is on a branch from the main east-west trunk and is designated, a legacy of the original Proctor Creek name for the Green Line.
During daytime hours, trains on the Red and Gold lines service the entire north-south trunk line and split north of Lindbergh Center. All MARTA trains are identified with a destination on electronic LCD signs on the front and sides of the train and on each car. After 9pm, and also during single-tracking, the Red Line is short-turned and runs as a shuttle between North Springs and Lindbergh Center, connecting to the Gold Line at Lindbergh Center. The connection is scheduled, with southbound Red trains arriving at Lindbergh Center just before Gold trains continuing southbound, and in reverse, northbound Gold trains arrive at Lindbergh just before Red trains leave northbound.
Blue and Green lines service the east-west trunk line together between Ashby and Edgewood–Candler Park. At Ashby, Blue Line service continues to H.E. Holmes while Green Line trains divert to Bankhead Station. Green Line service terminates at Edgewood–Candler Park, while the Blue Line continues east to Indian Creek. After 9pm, Green Line service is short-turned and operates as a shuttle between Bankhead and Vine City. On weekends before 9pm, Green Line service is short-turned at King Memorial.
Older system maps used orange to denote the North-South line and blue for the East-West line, including the Northeast and Proctor Creek branches. Lines were identified by the direction of travel and/or terminals. MARTA switched to a color-based route naming system in October 2009, so the Proctor Creek or Bankhead-Edgewood line became the Green Line, for example. The former Northeast line that served Doraville, known as the "heart of Atlanta's Asian community", was initially named the Yellow Line, which Asian-Americans found derogatory. It was renamed to the Gold Line in 2010 in response to the complaints.
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 and ride passenger drop off parking spaces closest to the stations' entrances.

Operation

The MARTA rail system operates between approximately 4:45 a.m. and 1 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Originally, MARTA operated trains every eight minutes during the day on weekdays on each route. When two routes operated on the same tracks, the effective headway was cut in half, and the North-South Line operated on a combined four-minute headway between Lindbergh Center and Airport stations on the trunk. On Saturdays, it was every ten minutes, and on Sundays it was every 15 minutes. At night, trains operated every 15 minutes.
After budget cuts in 2005 affected the rail system, headways were increased by 25–50% to 10 minutes weekdays during rush hour and 12 minutes during midday, and 20 minutes nightly and weekends. For combined service, headways increased 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 as the Red Line was short-turned and only ran from North Springs to Lindbergh Center; likewise the Green Line was short turned and operated from Bankhead to Vine City.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Atlanta, train headways were reduced to 15 minute intervals between trains during most weekday hours and 20 minutes at other times. In August 2023, MARTA announced that frequencies would increase to every 12 minutes on all rail lines between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Following the increase, headways would be every 6 minutes along the interlined portion of the network. In December 2024, they announced that frequencies would increase again back to their pre-pandemic headways of every 10 minutes between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and 7 p.m and every 12 minutes during off-peak hours on weekdays.
Due to ongoing rail system maintenance, weekend headways were variable and could range from the normal 20 minutes to as much as 24 minutes, with the Green and Red lines being truncated in up to 80% of weekends in 2024. During weekends in the latter case, headways along the shared lines will increase from 10 minutes to 20 minutes.
In April 2025, MARTA announced weekend headway improvements for the first time since the 2005 service cuts, bringing frequencies back to 15 minutes. Red Line trains will serve Airport station at all times.

Stations

StationCodeLinesJurisdictionStructureOpenedAverage Weekday Entries
Ref.
Airport†S7 College ParkElevated9,228
Arts CenterN5 AtlantaUnderground6,340
AshbyW3 AtlantaUnderground1,419
AvondaleE7DecaturAt-grade2,482
Bankhead†P4AtlantaElevated889
Brookhaven/OglethorpeNE8BrookhavenElevated2,156
BuckheadN7AtlantaAt-grade3,001
ChambleeNE9ChambleeElevated3,201
Civic CenterN2 AtlantaUnderground, elevated2,209
College ParkS6 College ParkOpen-cut8,061
DecaturE6DecaturUnderground2,759
Doraville†NE10DoravilleElevated4,967
DunwoodyN9DunwoodyElevated3,089
East LakeE5Atlanta/DecaturAt-grade1,199
East PointS5 East PointOpen-cut5,743
Edgewood/Candler ParkE4 AtlantaElevated1,061
Five Points*0 AtlantaUnderground14,713
Five Points*0 AtlantaAt-grade14,713
GarnettS1 AtlantaElevated1,287
Georgia StateE1 AtlantaElevated3,826
SEC DistrictW1 AtlantaAt grade1,105
H. E. Holmes†W5AtlantaElevated5,164
Indian Creek†E9Unincorporated DeKalb CountyAt-grade4,107
Inman Park/ReynoldstownE3 AtlantaAt-grade2,259
KensingtonE8Unincorporated DeKalb CountyAt-grade4,902
King MemorialE2 AtlantaElevated1,251
Lakewood/Fort McPhersonS4 Atlanta / East PointEmbankment2,821
LenoxNE7AtlantaUnderground2,456
Lindbergh CenterN6 AtlantaOpen-cut6,925
Medical CenterN8Sandy SpringsAt-grade1,461
MidtownN4 AtlantaUnderground5,367
North AvenueN3 AtlantaUnderground5,273
North Springs†N11Sandy SpringsElevated6,036
Oakland CityS3 AtlantaEmbankment3,436
Peachtree CenterN1 AtlantaUnderground8,821
Sandy SpringsN10Sandy SpringsUnderground2,965
Vine CityW2 AtlantaAt-grade607
West EndS2 AtlantaElevated5,029
West LakeW4AtlantaAt-grade1,149