New MARTA trains won’t hit tracks before 2027, waiting on safety checks

The exterior of the new railcars will feature the “Minimalist” design as chosen by customers. The most prominent feature is a lighted “smile” on the front of the train that denotes the color of the rail line; Red, Gold, Green or Blue, so riders will know from a distance that their train is approaching. The exterior design showcases MARTA’s iconic colors alongside the railcar, carrying your eye down the length of the train, while highlighting the modern, aerodynamic design. (PHOTO: MARTA)

By Sam Sachs

ATLANTA — At the latest Atlanta City Council Transportation Committee meeting, MARTA said previously announced the new trains’ arrivals had gotten off track.

Originally, Channel 2 Action News reported the announcement that the new MARTA railcars were supposed to enter operation in 2025.

During a question and answer session at Wednesday’s meeting, Atlanta City Councilmember Matt Westmoreland asked MARTA General Manager and CEO Jonathan Hunt for an update on getting the new rail cars into operation.

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Hunt told the committee that a recent brief was given to city council during an executive session but said that the trains made by Stadler still weren’t ready to run. A postponement of the launch was announced in June.

“I learned the lesson as interim the hard way,” Hunt said. “The trains will be ready when they are ready. But that said, we are extremely close, and I say that tongue in cheek because there’s a safety certification document that I have to personally sign that goes to GDOT.”

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Hunt said that document then has to be sent from the Georgia Department of Transportation to the Federal Transit Administration to certify the trains are safe for metro Atlanta residents to ride.

“Myself and the entire team takes that extremely seriously but that being said, we won’t be having this discussion 68 months from now,” Hunt said.

Westmoreland pressed him for more specifics on when the trains would arrive, saying he wanted to know if it would be during Halloween or Thanksgiving or as far forward as Valentine’s Day, or within six months.

Hunt said MARTA was close to getting the trains onboard.

In a statement to Channel 2 Action News, a MARTA spokesman said the agency has not given a revised public timeline yet.

“MARTA is working with our partners at Stadler on the safety certification process. We look forward to introducing the first of our new trains when they are ready for revenue service, and we will share additional updates with you as we have them,” MARTA said in a statement.

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