Old MARTA railcars turning into Georgia coral reef habitats

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority has shared a new update on the agency's project to turn old rail cars into a coral reef.

In December 2023, MARTA dismantled and cleaned two decommissioned rail cars and shipped them off to Artificial Reef L, which sits around 23 nautical miles off of Georgia's Ossabaw Island.

The project, part of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources' Coastal Resources Division's more than 40-year history of building artificial reefs, was designed to create a new habitat for marine life off the coast.

In their first dive since the rail cars were deployed, officials say they've seen a good amount of soft coral growing on the former vehicles and nine species of game fish checking out the new scenery.

"MARTA is proud to be part of repurposing old railcars in this environmentally responsible way," MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said. "It’s exciting to see this type of development on the railcars after only a few months."

With the early success of the project, MARTA is hoping to add more retired railcars to the habitat in the future. 

"The artificial reef is looking great, and we are encouraged by the amount of coral growth and marine wildlife activity," said Cameron Brinton, a marine biologist with DNR’s Coastal Resources Division. "You’ll notice one of the railcar roofs has collapsed, which is typical, and we’ll see more changes to the railcars over time as they become part of the essential marine habitat for sea creatures, including popular sport fish and endangered sea turtles."

Over the years, various structures have been placed on the bottom of the ocean, from old bridges to retired navy ships - even a tank. The MARTA rail cars will be the latest addition to the undersea architecture.

The reef was first created in 1976.