MARTA derailed line cleared

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - The MARTA line near Atlanta’s airport which had been blocked by two disabled and derailed train cars since Tuesday evening has been cleared.

No one was hurt in the incident, but the incident has caused a massive travel headache for commuters to and from the world’s busiest airport.

According to MARTA officials, an out-of-service train was heading north toward the Armor Rail Yard around 9 p.m. Tuesday, when it got stuck after two cars were derailed. This reportedly happened on a spur track off the main line, near the Hartsfield-Jackson terminal.

Since then, officials have been directing passengers at the Airport Station to catch buses to and from the College Park Station.

MARTA brought in a massive crane Thursday to lift the cars but there have been several delays in the process. Crews have been busy maneuvering the two disables cars on the raised platform overpass just north of Airport Station.

Crews spent most of Thursday morning clearing the airport parking lot below the tracks to make room for the massive crane. It came in just after noon. That coupled with a neighboring smaller crane would lift the two derailed cars back onto the tracks.

MARTA officials say preliminary findings revealed the train carried six cars, four of which crossed the interlocking with no problems, but that sixth car had an issue and may have caused car number five to partially derail.

MARTA says obviously having the cars on a raised platform causes some issues but nothing they haven't seen or can't handle. Officials also say this is a very unusual situation for MARTA where they have good tracks and good railcars.

MARTA officials say they are working to completely clear the line and inspect it so normal rail operations can continue to the airport.

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