MARTA = Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
SNAPSHOT
Heavy Rail
In North America, the American Public Transportation Association defines a heavy rail system as an electric railway with the capacity to handle a heavy volume of traffic. The term is often used to distinguish it from light rail systems, which usually handle a smaller volume of passengers.
In North America, heavy rail can also refer to rapid transit, when referring to systems with heavier passenger loadings than light rail systems, but distinct from commuter rail and intercity rail systems. It is characterized by high-speed, passenger rail cars running in separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded. Such passenger rail cars are almost always electrically driven, with power either drawn from an overhead line or an electrified third rail.
STATION ARCHITECTURE > See WABE podcast (Docomomo Georgia)
MORE MARTA > See slide deck
TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
- Principal public transportation operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting of 48 miles of rail track with 38 train stations. It is the eighth-largest rapid transit system in the United States by ridership.
- MARTA operates almost exclusively in Fulton, Clayton, and DeKalb counties, although they maintain bus service to two destinations in neighboring Cobb County (Six Flags Over Georgia and the Cumberland Transfer Center next to the Cumberland Mall). MARTA also operates Mobility, a separate para-transit service for disabled customers.
- System Map
SNAPSHOT
- Daily ridership: 432,900 (weekday; total in 2016)
- 231,700 (weekday; rail)
- 199,000 (weekday; bus)
- 2,200 (weekday; paratransit)
- Annual ridership: 134,701,300 (total)
- Bus: February 17, 1972
- Rail: June 30, 1979
- System length: 48 miles
- Transit Stations: 38
- Lines: Red/Gold + Blue/Green
- Track gauge: 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (standard gauge)
- Electrification: Third rail 750 V DC
- Top speed: 70 mph
Heavy Rail
In North America, the American Public Transportation Association defines a heavy rail system as an electric railway with the capacity to handle a heavy volume of traffic. The term is often used to distinguish it from light rail systems, which usually handle a smaller volume of passengers.
In North America, heavy rail can also refer to rapid transit, when referring to systems with heavier passenger loadings than light rail systems, but distinct from commuter rail and intercity rail systems. It is characterized by high-speed, passenger rail cars running in separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded. Such passenger rail cars are almost always electrically driven, with power either drawn from an overhead line or an electrified third rail.
STATION ARCHITECTURE > See WABE podcast (Docomomo Georgia)
MORE MARTA > See slide deck
TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT
- General
- Station Profile