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  • MARTA Atlanta Light Rail Streetcar & Beltline Project

  • General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.
General discussion of passenger rail systems not otherwise covered in the specific forums in this category, including high speed rail.

Moderators: mtuandrew, gprimr1

 #1360715  by Balerion
 
Atlanta approves Streetcar expansion plan -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta City Council has approved a new Streetcar System Plan, which includes five crosstown routes in addition to 22 miles of streetcar service along the Beltline.

All totaled, the plan consists of a 50-plus mile streetcar system throughout the city. The document will serve as a framework for a potential Fulton County referendum in 2016 seeking approval from voters to impose an additional penny or fractional penny sales tax to fund transportation projects. Having the plan in place also enables the city to apply for large scale federal transportation funding.
 #1386650  by Jeff Smith
 
Streetcar may be shut down: MyAJC
State threatens to close Atlanta streetcar
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In a letter to Mayor Kasim Reed and MARTA CEO Keith Parker on Monday, the Georgia Department of Transportation gave the city until June 14 to submit plans to address 60 outstanding problems outlined in the reports. If those plans are not sufficient, GDOT said, it will order the streetcar to shut down immediately.

The city and MARTA share responsibility for the $98 million system that runs in downtown Atlanta. State and federal law requires GDOT to oversee the safety and security of rail operations like the streetcar, GDOT Commissioner Russell McMurry said.

The problems with the streetcar include poor maintenance procedures, inadequate staffing and a failure to properly investigate accidents.
And ridership is not what was expected:
After offering free fares for a year, the streetcar started charging $1 in January. Ridership plummeted. About 91,000 people rode the street in the first three months of this year – 48 percent less than the same period in 2015.
 #1386936  by litz
 
If I had to guess, a deal will be struck to prevent a shutdown.

Anyone who is surprised that ridership at $1/ride is a fraction of what it was when it was $0/ride is delusional.
 #1472309  by Jeff Smith
 
Expansion on the table, but Beltline supporters disappointed: MyAJC.com

Brief, fair-use:
MARTA transit plan includes 21 miles of light rail

MARTA and Atlanta have proposed building 21 miles of light rail lines and other transit improvements with the proceeds of a sales tax approved by city voters in 2016.
But it’s not enough for advocates of the Atlanta Beltline, who say the project is getting shortchanged.

The list of projects recommended by the city and MARTA - obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - includes the Clifton Corridor light rail line, plus a system of other rail lines snaking through downtown and along Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta.
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But the proposal includes only a third of the light rail envisioned for the Beltline loop. Also missing from the list: A heavy rail extension along I-20 west, several other light rail lines and a bus rapid transit route along I-20 east.
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Since then, employees have evaluated dozens of potential projects that would cost a combined $11.5 billion. The proposed final list includes:
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A light rail system stretching from the Clifton Corridor to Campbelltown Road in southwest Atlanta. The network includes the northeast and southwest portions of the proposed Beltline Loop, plus a connecting link through downtown along the existing Atlanta Streetcar route. The streetcar would become part of the light rail network.
Clifton Corridor topic: http://railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.ph ... 34&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1472790  by Jeff Smith
 
https://www.myajc.com/blog/commuting/ma ... TZEYqNP6H/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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*Campbellton Line: Five miles of in-street light rail service along Campbellton Road between Oakland City Station and Greenbriar Mall. An arterial rapid transit line has been established. It will be upgraded to bus rapid transit and then to light rail in the long run. $263.7 million (light rail only).
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*Beltline Loop – Northeast: Three miles of in-street running light rail service from Ponce City Market to Lindbergh Station along Atlanta Beltline. $174 million.

*Beltline Loop – Southwest: Four miles of in-street running light rail service along Atlanta Beltline from roughly I-20 to Oakland City Station. $196.2 million.

*Crosstown Downtown West Extension: Three miles of in-street light rail service from the Atlanta Streetcar to the Atlanta Beltline – Southwest. $171.6 million.

*Crosstown Downtown East Extension: Two miles of in-street light rail service from the Atlanta Streetcar to Ponce City Market along Atlanta Beltline – Northeast. $189.8 million.
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 #1527692  by Jeff Smith
 
https://atlanta.curbed.com/2019/12/9/21 ... e-eastside
A $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to help Atlanta Beltline and MARTA leaders figure out how to link downtown’s underutilized streetcar circuit to multi-use trails on either side of the city.

The city’s Streetcar Downtown Crosstown Extension project, part of the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation Improvement Plan, is ultimately expected to stitch together the Beltline’s Westside Trail with its Eastside Trail by way of light rail snaking through destinations like the Atlanta University Center and Georgia State University.

“The work funded by the $2.8 million will include geotechnical and utility surveys to clarify impacts and costs of the preferred alignment,” Beltline spokeswoman Jenny Odom tells Curbed Atlanta. “It will also provide data that can help determine potential station locations.”

Essentially, which path the rail lines will take is undetermined, but Beltline officials said during a community meeting last week the Eastside Trail connection would be at Ponce de Leon Avenue.
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 #1528155  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Atlanta should be putting any and all available funds towards extending MARTA rail into Cobb County and away from more "Lexus Lanes". I know "they don't want it", but really, they best get it.

author's note: author owns a Lexus, drives to Atlanta twice yearly, has a valid toll X-ponder (Florida Sun Pass), but has NEVER used a "Lexus Lane".
 #1528314  by Jeff Smith
 
But like you said, Cobb has to ask for it first. Very similar to MNRR; counties have to opt in. I've taken the toll lanes south of the city because it's well worth it.

Cobb won't be LRT in any case, and I think I've got a thread on here about them giving CSX a lease on very favorable terms on ROW that they own, agreeing to not consider passenger traffic.
 #1528556  by MattW
 
Actually Jeff, the last news is that some sort of provision for passenger rail was preserved:
The contract preserves CSX’s exclusive control over freight access but also reserves Georgia’s right to install passenger rail at a future date.

The implementation of passenger rail is subject to several caveats, including a prohibition on “high-speed” rail. The contract includes a stipulation that the introduction of passenger rail be subject to a “mutual agreement” between the state and the company on safety, planning and engineering.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-govt--po ... wsP5s30uK/

Actual documentation in the Federal Register (do a CTRL+F for "passenger"):
https://www.federalregister.gov/documen ... c-railroad
 #1564785  by Jeff Smith
 
https://saportareport.com/affordable-ho ... rts/david/

https://saportakinsta.s3.amazonaws.com/ ... unding.pdf
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Twenty years after the Atlanta BeltLine idea was presented to city leaders, not a single mile of track on the
22-mile rail and trail loop connecting to MARTA rail has been laid. MARTA says it will be 2027 before the
first tiny 1.4 mile segment is operational. The rest of the project is 25-30 years out under the best scenario.
Atlanta’s leaders – its Mayor and City Council – have lost sight of the complete BeltLine vision, particularly
the affordable housing component’s connection to transit. Today, neither Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms nor
the City Council considers the rail portion of the BeltLine a top priority.
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 #1565226  by electricron
 
Jeff Smith wrote: Tue May 15, 2018 10:20 am https://www.myajc.com/blog/commuting/ma ... TZEYqNP6H/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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*Campbellton Line: Five miles of in-street light rail service along Campbellton Road between Oakland City Station and Greenbriar Mall. An arterial rapid transit line has been established. It will be upgraded to bus rapid transit and then to light rail in the long run. $263.7 million (light rail only).
...
*Beltline Loop – Northeast: Three miles of in-street running light rail service from Ponce City Market to Lindbergh Station along Atlanta Beltline. $174 million.
*Beltline Loop – Southwest: Four miles of in-street running light rail service along Atlanta Beltline from roughly I-20 to Oakland City Station. $196.2 million.
*Crosstown Downtown West Extension: Three miles of in-street light rail service from the Atlanta Streetcar to the Atlanta Beltline – Southwest. $171.6 million.
*Crosstown Downtown East Extension: Two miles of in-street light rail service from the Atlanta Streetcar to Ponce City Market along Atlanta Beltline – Northeast. $189.8 million.
...
Are these "in-street" light rail lines in their own dedicated lanes, "in-street" light rail lines in shared lanes like streetcars, or "in-street" light rail lines with the trail's payment being the street? I'm sorry, but all those references to "in-street" is very, very, very confusing!!!!
 #1565319  by MattW
 
They would be a mix. The Campbellton line is likely going to be mixed. The NE Segment would be dedicated RoW until right at Lindbergh. The SW segment should be mostly dedicated RoW, the crosstown lines are likely mixed-traffic though. Ideally they'd have dedicated lanes unlike the current starter segment. I'd guess they only reason they say "in-street" is probably because that's the construction method they'll be using, and it won't be fully grade-separated, pedestrians and bikes/scooters will be able to cross the lines like they cross the trail now. But it shouldn't be like the trains are running on the paved trail in the same space used by pedestrians, bikers, etc.
 #1624518  by Jeff Smith
 
Extension moves forward: https://www.railwayage.com/passenger/tr ... translink/
The MARTA Board of Directors Planning and Capital Programs Committee on June 22 selected the team led by architecture and engineering firm HDR to complete the final design of the two-mile Streetcar East Extension.

According to MARTA, the extension will cost approximately $230 million; it is funded through the More MARTA Atlanta half-penny sales tax. Construction will get under way in 2025, with service scheduled to begin in 2028.

The MARTA Board recently finalized the extension’s alignment, which will run along Edgewood Avenue, Randolph Street, Auburn Avenue, and Irwin Street to the Atlanta Beltline; it will then turn north to Ponce City Market. There will be five stops along the route.
 #1631613  by Jeff Smith
 
Metro Atlanta group against rail expansion on BeltLine: 11Alive.com
ATLANTA — A grassroots group is now starting a campaign to stop rail expansion on the Atlanta BeltLine, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
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The report also stated that opponents are worried about how the rail would impact pedestrian activity, properties, construction and more. An argument the group stands behind is that the streetcar has low ridership.

MARTA's existing streetcar line runs mostly on a loop through downtown. In July, MARTA's Board of directors approved millions of dollars in funding to expand the streetcar to the BeltLine's eastside trail. The extension would take north by northeast to connect with the BeltLine at Irwin Street. From there, the streetcar would have five stops on a one and a half mile stretch along the BeltLine’s eastside trail before reaching Ponce de Leon Avenue.
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"I think it boils down to one thing and that’s space, if it becomes too congested. Because right now on a Saturday or Sunday, it’s pretty congested on the BeltLine," Mike Worley, a regular BeltLine user who also said he's a fan of public transit, previously stated.
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