State of MARTA 2025 was a highlight reel looking to the future
But it could've cared a little more about the "now."
Lindbergh Center Station looked very different on Thursday morning, as business-clad professionals and media crowded the platform for the first reveal of one of MARTA’s new CQ400 Stadler rail trains.
I didn’t get there as the train was rolling into the station – the 30 bus which I took to get there was ten minutes late – but I was there when they synced up the honeyed tones of Etta James’ “At Last” to fill the platform, slid the doors of the CQ400 open, and let everyone on to explore the train.
It did look exactly like the renderings: open gangways from car to car; bright orange, yellow, and blue color blocking and high-contrast iconography to denote priority seating areas; digital screens; new maps; and of course, the “smile” shaped lights on the front of the train that will denote if the train is a Red, Blue, Green, or Gold line.
Images of the interior and exterior of the CQ400 train.
I am not even a train enthusiast — I just learned the term “rolling stock” — but I was childishly giddy as they let us explore the train. The poles have wireless phone chargers! They let us go in the operator's cab!
A few times during the tour, current trains pulled up on the northbound platform, single-tracking, and it felt a little strange to be the ones with the special privilege of getting to explore the new train for the first time while the daily riders watched from the other side of the ropes. I suspect that many of the people in attendance are not frequent MARTA riders.
Additionally, I wasn’t the only one who had transit issues getting to the event. MARTA Board Chairperson Jennifer Ide’s bus route was cancelled when she tried to take a bus to the Wednesday dress rehearsal of the event, and had her husband drop her off. “Even I’m not going to choose to ride 54 minutes when it’s a seven-minute drive,” Ide told the AJC. “We’ve got to figure out other ways.”
When I received my RSVP email, the email included a parking pass (thanks?) and no transit directions. And as many have pointed out, I have no idea why MARTA decided to hold the event at 8 a.m. on a weekday morning, forcing single-tracking at Lindbergh Center as folks were making their way to work and school.
The train tour was by far the most exciting part of the event. A drumline led us past the other major reveal of the day, a purple-wrapped rapid electric bus that many attendees declined to tour, and we filed into a building for the official State of MARTA presentation.
After a cute video from engineering company Axis showing the relaxation of riding transit and a MARTA video where they made a “this is Sparta” joke (a meme from 16 years ago), MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood took the stage.
He began by imagining a day in 2050 where a MARTA rider boards a bus that arrives on-time to a station, and boards a CQ400 train with all of its flashy accouterments. These plans – reflecting both the new rail and MARTA’s NextGen Bus redesign – are decent goals for 2025, but I struggle to see how they would be as admirable in 2050.
The rest of the presentation was essentially a highlight reel of MARTA’s accomplishments, but little notes on planned goals, progress, or new innovations. Greenwood highlighted the planned train control system that the new Stadler rail trains will run on, a planned automated fare collection system, progress in transit-oriented development, and a new MARTA app – it’s unclear if they’ll be involving the developer of Smarta, the rider-made app that was recently released.
Safety at work is an issue on a lot of operators’ minds following the killing of Leroy Ramos, and they’ve made their voices heard in the media and in public comment. This was not addressed directly in the State of MARTA presentation. Greenwood mentioned heightened security – his 2050 vision included a MARTA police officer patrolling every train – and something about drones; then quickly segued into the MARTA Hope program’s accomplishments in making contact with unhoused transit riders and trying to connect them with resources.
Greenwood also noted that they would be investing $1 billion into station renovation projects across all 38 stations.
To celebrate MARTA’s merch launch that happened earlier this year, Greenwood started overhand throwing MARTA merch into the crowd. “Holy shit,” a guy behind me said as a rolled-up piece of merch nearly missed his face.
Greenwood highlighted MARTA’s Rapid Response team that provides updates to communities. I thought this was a general MARTA updates team, but this in fact applies specifically to the Summerhill bus rapid transit line project. This is disappointing; I think MARTA needs to be notifying riders more accurately about many updates of its system, especially not online, including the NextGen Bus Network – I have not seen any in-person signage notifying folks of the public feedback meetings. I worry that the average rider would not know that the redesign is happening.
The new trains have been described as futuristic and sci-fi-like, but others have pointed out that compared to Europe and Asia, they are dated models. In public social media posts and comments about the new trains, a lot of folks wished for expansion instead of, or alongside, the new trains. And a number of unoriginal people mused that the trains would be ruined quickly by reckless riders; specifically, that the trains would smell like piss, which is not something I’ve ever experienced on even the oldest trains. (The elevators are another story.) But hey, if that were a problem, it could be alleviated by having more available and accessible bathrooms! Which is a feature of the station renovation plan.
Overall, the shiny new train reveal was exciting, but it’s hard to get too excited when we don’t know exactly when the trains will roll out. I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of MARTA, but there are a lot of improvements to be made, specifically bus reliability and frequency, operator safety, and improving service on weekends and event days.
The Council for Quality Growth has a very detailed write-up of the event.
What to know this week:
Sat 2/1 and Sun 2/2: All rail lines operate on weekend 20-minute schedules.
Red Line in service to Airport until 9pm. Green Line in service to Vine City.
Planned bus reroutes:
On Sunday 2/2 from 5 am to 5 pm or until an all clear, the following Downtown Atlanta routes will be rerouted due to the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K Marathon:
2 Ponce De Leon Avenue
3 Auburn Avenue
9 Boulevard / Tilson Road
21 Memorial Drive
26 Marietta St
40 Downtown
42 Pryor Road
49 McDonough Blvd.
50 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway
51 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard
55 Jonesboro Road
102 North Avenue
186 Rainbow Drive
809 Monroe Drive Boulevard
813 Atlanta Student Movement Boulevard
816 North Highland Avenue
832 Grant Park
899 Old Fourth Ward
On Sunday 2/2 from 9 am to 9 pm, Route 40 Peachtree Street/Downtown will be rerouted along Peachtree Street between Andrew Young and Forsyth Street for the filming of Victory Boulevard, a new Karate Kid movie.
On Tuesday 2/4 from 7 am to 8 pm, the following buses will be rerouted along Forsyth/Mitchell St., also for the filming:
3 Martin Luther King Jr Dr / Auburn Ave
21 Memorial Dr
55 Jonesboro Rd
186 Rainbow Dr / South Dekalb
What else to know:
MARTA’s public feedback events on the NextGen Bus Network will conclude this week. Additionally, you may still fill out the comment form. Don’t miss these virtual or in-person options to give your feedback:
Downtown transit – The Saporta Report argues that the Streetcar, and more robust transit in general, is key to revitalizing Downtown.
Transit advocacy – Propel ATL released a list of their 2024 accomplishments, including Vision Zero accomplishments like No Turn on Red and Leading Pedestrian Intervals, keeping the Five Points station open, and the e-bike rebate.
Remembering Cornelius Taylor – A funeral will be held this weekend for Cornelius Taylor, the man killed with a city vehicle during a homeless encampment sweep. The community is invited to a public viewing on Feb. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home. Then on Feb. 3, Taylor’s funeral service will be held at Ebenezer Baptist Church at 11 a.m. Taylor’s man’s family is accepting donations to help pay for his funeral. You can make a donation by calling the Willie A. Watkins Funeral Home’s finance department at (404) 758-1731, making an online payment or visiting the funeral home at 1003 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. SW.
The Gold(fish) line – There are new photos of the MARTA trains that were released into the ocean off the coast of Georgia to create an artificial reef.
Have a great weekend and happy February!
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