The MARTA rail network, a component of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority system in Metro Atlanta, has four service lines: the Red, Gold, Blue, and Green lines. The lines span in Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs along two general corridors. The Red and Gold lines mainly run along the north–northeast corridor, and the Blue and Green Lines run along the east–west 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 .
The rail system was approved by voters in Dekalb and Fulton counties in 1971 and began operation on June 30, 1979, with the East Line between Avondale and Georgia State stations. The last major expansion opened on December 16, 2000, in Sandy Springs.
History
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) was created through an act passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 1965 to provide regional transit service to five counties in Metro Atlanta. The initial plan for a rapid transit system, developed by the local metropolitan planning organization as well as Atlanta Transit, covered in four counties. It was rejected by voters on November 6, 1968. A measure in Dekalb and Fulton counties was passed in 1971 and established a one-percent sales tax to fund MARTA operations and construction. A $900million grant from the federal government was awarded to MARTA for the rail system; the funds had originally been earmarked for a rejected rapid transit system in Seattle. Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on February 20, 1975.
The first section of the rail system opened on June 30, 1979, between Avondale and Georgia State on of the East Line. A second line, the West Line, opened on December 22 with of tracks between Hightower (H.E. Holmes) and Five Points stations. The North Line opened on December 4, 1981, as a stub that connected Five Points to Garnett in the south and North Avenue in the north. It was extended north to Arts Center and south to West End by December 1982. A major extension of the North Line opened on June 8, 1996, with three stations extending to Medical Center station in Sandy Springs. Two more stations in Sandy Springs opened on December 16, 2000.
Attempts to expand MARTA further into the suburban counties were rejected by voters several times; these attempts were stymied by campaigns that used racial politics targeted at the white electorate in those counties. The lines names were changed to colors in October 2009; the initial use of the "Yellow Line" was replaced by the "Gold Line" due to its presence in Doraville, an area with a large Asian American community. Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens announced plans for four infill stations, including one at Murphy Crossing on the Southside of the Beltline, on March 25, 2024.
Lines
All MARTA trains are identified with a destination on electronic LCD signs on the front and sides of the train and on each car. An automated announcement system announces train destinations, bus and other transit connections, and landmarks that are at or near each rail station. During daytime hours, trains on the Red and Gold lines service the entire north-south trunk line and split north of Lindbergh Center (N6). After 9pm, and also during single-tracking, the Red Line is short-turned and runs as a shuttle between North Springs (N11) and Lindbergh Center (N6), 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 (W3) and Edgewood–Candler Park (E4). At Ashby, Blue Line service continues to H.E. Holmes (W5) while Green Line trains divert to Bankhead Station (P4). 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 (P4) and Vine City (stop W2). On weekends before 9pm, Green Line service is short-turned at King Memorial (stop E2).
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 the Asian American community found derogatory. It was renamed to the Gold Line in 2010 in response to the complaints.
Operations 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. +Historical system headways Period Headway (min.) 1979–2005 2005–20202020–2023 2023–20242024–20252025–Present Weekday Rush(6–9 AM & 3–7 PM) 8 1015 121010 Non-rush12 151212 Nights(9 PM+) 15 2020 202020 Weekends 10/15 2020 202015
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 (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.
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 (8:30pm weekdays, 8:50pm weekends) 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.
Ridership
In , the MARTA rail system carried a total of passenger trips. It ranked eighth among U.S. rapid transit systems. Ridership remains below levels recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic; in 2019, the system carried 64million total passengers. By February 2023, weekday ridership had only reached 50percent of its pre-pandemic level while weekends were at 62percent. The counting methodology used by MARTA was primarily based on faregate data until it was switched to estimates based on samples of manual passenger counts aboard trains in January 2026.
Fares Currently, the one-way full fare for MARTA costs US$2.50. Passengers over 65, passengers with disabilities and Medicare recipients are eligible for discounted fares. MARTA also offers unlimited travel through multiple transit pass options ranging from one day to 30 days. Rail stations have fare gates at their entrances, which accept payment using MARTA's Breeze Card or credit/debit cards.
The primary form of payment is the Breeze Card, a contactless smart card that allows riders to load stored value and add prepaid passes. In 2026, MARTA introduced a new system with updated faregates designed to support more contactless payment methods, like mobile wallet and debit/credit cards equipped with near-field communication (NFC). A new app was made with support for digital cards. New touchscreen ticket vending machines were also added and are available at various retail locations. Implementation is scheduled to be completed the following year in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Stations
Each station also has a secondary designation that provides the cardinal direction (typically north, south, east, or west) 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 (N6). Northeast of Lindbergh Center on the Gold Line, stations are designated with NE while continuing the numbering, so Lenox is (NE7). Similarly, Bankhead is on a branch from the main east-west trunk and is designated (P4), a legacy of the original Proctor Creek name for the Green Line.
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. MARTA maintains a total of 19,602 parking stalls at its rail stations.
Key † denotes a terminal station Until 1994, the NE codes were designated as N
StationCodeLinesJurisdictionStructureOpenedAverage Weekday Entries(2019)Ref.Airport†S College ParkElevated9,228Arts CenterN AtlantaUnderground6,340AshbyW AtlantaUnderground1,419AvondaleEDecaturAt-grade2,482Bankhead†PAtlantaElevated889Brookhaven/OglethorpeNEBrookhavenElevated2,156BuckheadNAtlantaAt-grade3,001ChambleeNEChambleeElevated3,201Civic CenterN AtlantaUnderground, elevated2,209College ParkS College ParkOpen-cut8,061DecaturEDecaturUnderground2,759Doraville†NEDoravilleElevated4,967DunwoodyNDunwoodyElevated3,089East LakeEAtlanta/DecaturAt-grade1,199East PointS East PointOpen-cut5,743Edgewood/Candler ParkE AtlantaElevated1,061Five Points* 0 AtlantaUnderground14,713 At-gradeGarnettS AtlantaElevated1,287Georgia StateE AtlantaElevated3,826SEC DistrictW AtlantaAt grade1,105H. E. Holmes†WAtlantaElevated5,164Indian Creek†EUnincorporated DeKalb CountyAt-grade4,107Inman Park/ReynoldstownE AtlantaAt-grade2,259KensingtonEUnincorporated DeKalb CountyAt-grade4,902King MemorialE AtlantaElevated1,251Lakewood/Fort McPhersonS Atlanta / East PointEmbankment2,821LenoxNEAtlantaUnderground2,456Lindbergh CenterN AtlantaOpen-cut6,925Medical CenterNSandy SpringsAt-grade1,461MidtownN AtlantaUnderground5,367North AvenueN AtlantaUnderground5,273North Springs†NSandy SpringsElevated6,036Oakland CityS AtlantaEmbankment3,436Peachtree CenterN AtlantaUnderground8,821Sandy SpringsNSandy SpringsUnderground2,965Vine CityW AtlantaAt-grade607West EndS AtlantaElevated5,029West LakeWAtlantaAt-grade1,149
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