Safety concerns curb Atlanta Streetcar rail service through New Year, MARTA says
This image shows the issues of the Atlanta Street car rails found during a recent inspect. (MARTA)
ATLANTA - MARTA says it has suspended Atlanta Streetcar rail service through the New Year due to safety concerns found during a recent inspection.
MARTA Deputy Chief Mechanical Officer Daniel Hecht outlined the concerns Thursday during a board meeting. Hecht discussed 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.
The cars were removed from service on Nov. 29. Next week, the cars will begin to be loaded up on semi-trucks and hauled to the Siemens manufacturing facility in Colorado. The service will take about eight weeks. MARTA say they also plan to have the cars' brakes replaced at the same time.
In the meantime, specially-marked MARTA Mobility vehicles will offer free rides along the streetcar route from 8:17 a.m. until 11:15 p.m. daily. They will be operated by the same drivers that run the streetcars to help give familiarity to the route regulars.
This image shows how the wheels on the Atlanta Streetcar receive regular wear and tear leading to the need to replace them. (MARTA)
Board members raised concerns about a lack of redundancy in the system during the meeting, something officials say they plan to address moving forward.
MARTA took over the Atlanta Streetcar service from the city of Atlanta on July 1, 2018, as part of its $2.6 billion expansion. The transit authority is looking to expand the service to the Ponce City Market area in the next few years to help increase ridership. Right now, about 4,000 people use the service each week.
The total cost of the replacement and refurbishment was estimated to cost $7.4 million.