MARTA rail
rapid transit system in Atlanta, Georgia
The MARTA rail network, a component of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority system in Metro Atlanta, has four service lines: the Red, Gold, Blue, and Green lines. The lines span 48 miles (77 km) in Atlanta and the surrounding suburbs along two general corridors. The Red and Gold lines mainly run along the north–northeast corridor, and the Blue and Green Lines run along the east–west corridor. The two corridors connect at the Five Points station, which is the only station where transfers are possible between all four lines. In 2025, the system had a ridership of 30,373,600, or about 152,000 per weekday as of the second quarter of 2026.
The rail system was approved by voters in Dekalb and Fulton counties in 1971 and began operation on June 30, 1979, with the East Line between Avondale and Georgia State stations. The last major expansion opened on December 16, 2000, in Sandy Springs.
History
The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) was created through an act passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 1965 to provide regional transit service to five counties in Metro Atlanta. The initial plan for a rapid transit system, developed by the local metropolitan planning organization as well as Atlanta Transit, covered 50 miles (80 km) in four counties. It was rejected by voters on November 6, 1968.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “MARTA rail” is rapid transit system in Atlanta, Georgia. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through MARTA, rail and rapid, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “rapid transit system in Atlanta, Georgia” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6714497. Authority coordinates are 33.757, -84.390. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025, 2026, 1971 and 1979.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “MARTA rail”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow MARTA rail primary sources, MARTA rail archive and MARTA research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “MARTA rail”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “MARTA rail” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.