All Atlanta streetcars to return to service this month
ATLANTA - All four Atlanta streetcars should be back on the line by mid-June.
The streetcars were sidelines in November 2022 over safety concerns. Weekly inspections showed wear and tear in 2022. Toward the end of the year, the "degradation" increased at an unexpected rate.
This image shows how the wheels on the Atlanta Streetcar receive regular wear and tear leading to the need to replace them. (MARTA)
There was also ongoing issues with the track switch, where some bolts were found to be loosened, and the wheel profile, which was caused by regular wear and tear.
The wheel profile issue was first identified in 2021. MARTA officials at the time began the process to replace the specially-crafted $400,000-a-piece wheels on all four cars. The original plan was to cycle through each of the cars to keep the service continually running, but the recent inspection of the tracks compounded with a streetcar wheel shortage due to the pandemic changed those plans.
This image shows the issues of the Atlanta Street car rails found during a recent inspect. (MARTA)
Engineers even believed cars might derail if they were not removed from the tracks.
The cars were removed from service on Nov. 29, 2022. The cars then loaded up on semi-trucks and hauled to the Siemens manufacturing facility in Colorado. The service will also include having the cars' brakes replaced.
The first of MARTA’s new rail cars arrive in the Port of Brunswick on Dec. 14, 2022. (MARTA)
Two of the cars were returned to service at the start of March.
During Wednesday's Atlanta transportation committee meeting, executives said the the other two cars should be back in service hopefully by next week.
What is the Atlanta Streetcar?
Atlanta utilized federal dollars to get the streetcar started. There is an additional $225 million that has been committed through a sales tax that everyone pays when they make purchases inside the city limits.
The streetcar began service in Dec. 2014, the first of its kind in 65 years in the city. It served a 2.7-mile loop around Downtown Atlanta.
(MARTA)
In 2015, a report released by the Atlanta BeltLine, the Atlanta Streetcar, Inc., and Invest Atlanta identified the BeltLine and Peachtree Road as two of the possible corridors of expansion.
MARTA took over the Atlanta Streetcar service from the city of Atlanta on July 1, 2018, as part of its $2.6 billion expansion.
Late last year, all the streetcars were removed following a safety inspection and shipped to a Siemens manufacturing facility in Colorado and the Utah Transit Authority in Salt Lake City. The total cost of replacing the wheels was around $400,000.
This shows the current route and proposed route of the Atlanta Streetcar. (MARTA)
Currently, Atlanta and MARTA are looking to expand service from its current route from Edgewood Avenue to the Old Fourth Ward along the Atlanta BeltLine.