FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2022
STATE OF MARTA 2022
CELEBRATES “TRANSIT SUPERHEROES,” SHOWCASES NEW RAILCAR DESIGN
Customers Choose Comfort
& Technology for Interior, Minimalist Design for Exterior of New Trains
ATLANTA – The
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) held its State of MARTA
2022 event on Wednesday, Jan. 12, celebrating historic state and federal
funding and support of public transit and revealing the new railcar design as
chosen by customers. The annual event, hosted by Council for Quality Growth,
and with support from major sponsors VHB and WSP, was held virtually due to the
recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the region.
MARTA General
Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker shared MARTA’s ongoing efforts to provide
essential transit as the COVID-19 pandemic enters another year, the
accomplishments and goals of the Authority, highlighting projects large and
small that will improve the customer experience, and thanked the Georgia
Federal Delegation and MARTA’s jurisdictional partners for their unwavering
support.
“The Georgia
Delegation really became our very own transit force of superheroes this past
year and we wanted to recognize the ways in which they not only supported
individual projects but also came together as a force to be reckoned with,
placing transit front and center in the national infrastructure conversation,”
said Parker. “Strong federal support, along with historic state support for
transit is helping us continue to weather the pandemic while advancing
expansion and enhancement programs and making upgrades to the system that
customers will see immediately.”
Click here to see
a celebration of Georgia’s “Transit Force” 04 Georgia Delegation Superheroes.mp4 -
OneDrive (live.com).
The customer
experience factored greatly into the design of MARTA’s 254 new railcars, the
first of which will arrive in metro Atlanta next year. Through a series of
public outreach and engagement efforts centered around railcar design,
customers chose comfort and technology for the interior and sleek minimalism
for the exterior.
The interior
features an open
gangway so riders can move freely between cars, seating options including
facing forward and inward, spacious luggage and bicycle areas, and large,
accommodating ADA doorways and spaces. The new trains, designed and built by
Stadler, will have state-of-the-art technology providing convenient charging
stations and digital system maps and service information, along with small
upgrades that make a big difference on the daily commute such as wind screens
near the train doors and improved heating, cooling and lighting systems. Click
here to experience the new railcar interior design 06 New rail car interior.mp4 - OneDrive
(live.com).
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. Click
here to see the new railcar exterior design 07 New rail car exterior.mp4 - OneDrive
(live.com).
The new trains
are part of an exciting year ahead for MARTA as the Authority advances the
region’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) along Hank Aaron Dr., through
Summerhill, high-capacity transit along the Campbellton Corridor and in Clayton
County, and station rehabilitation projects at Airport, Indian Creek, and
Bankhead rail stations.
Customers may have
noticed smaller projects accomplished systemwide such as updated audio/visual
announcements with real-time service information, new bus shelters and amenities,
including the first Breeze machines at the bus transit hub in Clayton County,
and the new Station Manager Program that gives customers a point of contact at
their neighborhood rail station. Click here to see our valued jurisdictional
partners describe some of the exciting projects happening at MARTA 05 Enhancing the Dots and Building New
Lines.mp4 - OneDrive (live.com).
“I see transit
as a combination of lines and dots, with the lines being our buses and trains
and the dots being the communities we connect and serve,” said GM/CEO Parker.
“This next year will be one of enhancing the dots and expanding the lines,
reimagining what transit can and should be for the metro Atlanta region as it
continues to grow.”
To view the
entire State of MARTA 2022 event, including all the videos presented in the
program, visit MARTA - YouTube.
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