Gold Line (MARTA)

Last updated

Gold Line
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (logo).svg
MARTA CQ312 Gold Train.jpg
A Gold Line train on the viaduct north of Arts Center station
Overview
StatusOperational
Locale Atlanta, Georgia
Termini
Stations18 (4 Northeast, 6 North, Five Points, 7 South)
Service
Type Rapid transit
System MARTA rail
Operator(s) MARTA
Rolling stockSee MARTA rail#Rolling stock
History
Opened1981
Technical
Characterat grade, elevated, underground
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification Third rail,  750 V DC
Route map
Gold Line (MARTA) Gold Line highlighted in gold
BSicon numN345.svg
  Red  
BSicon KBHFa red.svg
N11
North Springs BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon BHF red.svg
N10
Sandy Springs BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon TUNNEL1 red.svg
BSicon BHF red.svg
N9
Dunwoody BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon SKRZ-G4o red.svg
BSicon BHF red.svg
N8
Medical Center BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon TUNNEL1 red.svg
BSicon BHF red.svg
N7
Buckhead
  Gold  
BSicon STR red.svg
BSicon KBHFa golden.svg
NE10
Doraville BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon TUNNEL1 red.svg
BSicon BHF golden.svg
NE9
Chamblee BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon STR red.svg
BSicon BHF golden.svg
NE8
Brookhaven/​Oglethorpe BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon STR red.svg
BSicon BHF golden.svg
NE7
Lenox BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon SKRZ-G4o red.svg
BSicon SKRZ-G4o golden.svg
BSicon tBS2c2 golden.svg
BSicon SHI2l red.svg
BSicon SHI2c3 red.svg
BSicon BS2r golden.svg
BSicon TUNNEL1 orange.svg
BSicon INT orange.svg
N6
Lindbergh Center BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon STR orange.svg
BSicon uABZl+l.svg
BSicon uKDSTeq.svg
BSicon eBHF orange.svg
Armour Yards
BSicon htSKRZ-G4a orange.svg
BSicon tBHF orange.svg
N5
Arts Center
BSicon tBHF orange.svg
N4
Midtown
BSicon tBHF orange.svg
N3
North Avenue
BSicon tBHF orange.svg
N2
Civic Center
BSicon tINT orange.svg
N1
Peachtree Center BSicon TRAM.svg
BSicon tCONTgq teal.svg
BSicon tINT orange.svg
BSicon tINTq teal.svg
BSicon tCONTfq teal.svg
0
Five Points
BSicon tBHFe@g orange.svg
S1
Garnett
BSicon SKRZ-G4o orange.svg
BSicon BHF orange.svg
S2
West End BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon eBHF orange.svg
Murphy Crossing
BSicon BHF orange.svg
S3
Oakland City BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon BHF orange.svg
S4
Lakewood/​Fort McPherson BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon BHF orange.svg
S5
East Point BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon TUNNEL1 orange.svg
BSicon BHF orange.svg
S6
College Park BSicon PARKING.svg
BSicon uKDSTaq.svg
BSicon STR orange.svg
BSicon uABZr+r.svg
South Yard & Shops
BSicon SKRZ-G4o orange.svg
Red
Gold
BSicon KINTe orange.svg
S7
Airport Gnome-searchtool.svg BSicon FLUG.svg BSicon PARKING.svg
Key
Red Line
BSicon STRq red.svg
BSicon STRq golden.svg
Gold Line
Red/Gold
BSicon STRq orange.svg
BSicon STRq teal.svg
BSicon STRq denim.svg
Blue/Green
BSicon uSTRq.svg
Yard tracks

Wheelchair symbol.svg All stations are accessible

The Gold Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Doraville and Airport stations, running through Doraville, Chamblee, Brookhaven, Atlanta, East Point and College Park.

Contents

History

What is now the Gold and Red Lines' shared section was originally opened on December 4, 1981, as the North-South Line between Garnett and North Avenue. [1] [2] On September 11, 1982, an infill station at Peachtree Center opened, while the North-South Line was extended south by one stop to West End station. [1] [2] On December 18 the same year, the North-South Line was extended northward to Midtown and Arts Center. [1] [2] On December 15, 1984, the Lakewood/​Fort McPherson, Oakland City, Lindbergh Center, Lenox, and Brookhaven (now Brookhaven/​Oglethorpe) stations all opened, with the last two being the first stations on what would become the Gold Line branch. [1] [2] East Point station opened on August 16, 1986, followed by Chamblee on December 19, 1987, and the College Park and Airport on June 18, 1988. [1] [2] The newest and northermost station on the line, Doraville, opened on December 29, 1992. [1] [2]

On June 8, 1996, MARTA added a new branch of the North-South Line, with stations at Buckhead, Medical Center, and Dunwoody. [1] To distinguish the two lines, the line to Dunwoody assumed the North-South Rail Line name, [3] [4] while the line to Doraville became the Northeast-South Rail Line [5] (sometimes known as the Northeast Line for short). [3] However, both the North-South Line and the Northeast Line continued to be colored on maps in orange as a single North-South Rail Line [3] [6] until December 2006, when the North-South Line began to be colored as red, and the Northeast Line as orange. [7]

In October 2009, MARTA introduced a color-coded system of naming rail lines, with the Northeast Line being renamed to the Yellow Line, and the color orange falling out of use. [8] [9] The Yellow Line name would remain in use until February 2010, when, due to the "Yellow Line" name being controversial among the large Asian-American community along the line, it was renamed to the Gold Line.

Now known as the Gold Line, it shares trackage with its counterpart, the Red Line, between the Airport and just north of the Lindbergh Center.

Future

On March 25, 2024, Andre Dickens, the mayor of Atlanta, announced plans for four new infill stations on the MARTA rail network, with one of them, Murphy Crossing, being a station on the Red and Gold Lines' shared section. Murphy Crossing will be on the west side of the Atlanta Beltline. [10] On April 11, Dickens announced that another one of the four proposed stations will also be shared by the Red and Gold Lines: namely, Armour Yards, located near the similarly-named Armour Yard. [11]

Line description

The Gold Line runs above ground, at grade and below ground in various portions of its route. It begins at the northeastern terminus, Doraville station in Doraville. The nonrevenue tracks extend northeastward from the station north of I-285. It then goes southwestward paralleling Peachtree Road in DeKalb County. Upon entering Atlanta in Buckhead, it crosses over the Red Line in the median of GA 400 before joining the Red Line, going southwest paralleling I-85. It turns south through Midtown and enters downtown Atlanta, where it meets the Blue and Green Lines at Five Points station. Leaving downtown, the Gold Line continues south, paralleling Lee Street and Main Street into East Point and College Park before reaching its terminus at the Airport station.

Naming controversy

When the color-based name change was proposed, it was the Yellow Line at first. However, in February 2010, the name was revised to Gold in order to address a concern among the Asian-American residents along the rail corridor. [12] The section of the Gold Line that is not shared by the Red Line has a significant number of Asian-American residents, to whom the term "yellow" is considered racist. [12] Despite the color name change, interestingly many MARTA system maps denoted the Gold Line with the yellow color still until 2017.

Stations

listed from northeast to south

StationCodeOpenedRail Line
Transfer
Doraville [13] NE10December 29, 1992 [1]
Chamblee NE9December 19, 1987 [1]
Brookhaven/Oglethorpe [14] NE8December 15, 1984 [1]
Lenox [15] NE7
Lindbergh Center [16] N6  Red  
Arts Center [17] N5December 18, 1982 [1]   Red  
Midtown [18] N4  Red  
North Avenue [19] N3December 4, 1981 [1]   Red  
Civic Center [20] N2  Red  
Peachtree Center [21] N1September 11, 1982 [1] [22]   Red    Streetcar  
Five Points [note 1] [23] [23] December 4, 1981 [1]   Blue    Green    Red  
Garnett [24] S1  Red  
West End [25] S2September 11, 1982 [1] [2]   Red  
Oakland City [26] S3December 15, 1984 [1]   Red  
Lakewood/Fort McPherson [27] S4  Red  
East Point [28] S5August 16, 1986  Red  
College Park [29] S6June 18, 1988. [30]   Red  
Airport S7  Red  
  1. The east–west (now Blue/Green Line) platform opened in 1979.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority</span> Public transit operator in Metro Atlanta, Georgia

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is the principal public transport operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of bus routes linked to a rapid transit system consisting of 48 miles (77 km) of rail track with 38 subway stations. MARTA's rapid transit system is the eighth-largest rapid transit system in the United States by ridership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arts Center station (MARTA)</span> MARTA rail station

Arts Center station is an underground subway station that serves the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. It is the northernmost of three MARTA stations that serve Midtown Atlanta, the others being Midtown and North Avenue. North of this station, Lindbergh Center, the tracks emerge out from the subway as it approaches the above ground station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindbergh Center station</span> MARTA rail station

Lindbergh Center station is an at-grade rapid transit station in Atlanta, Georgia, serving the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. It serves the Lindbergh/Morosgo neighborhood in southern Buckhead, and is a part-time terminus of the Red Line and the last transfer point for the Red and Gold (Doraville) rail lines. It is the only station on this route served by the Red and Gold lines at all times. This is the third busiest station in the MARTA system, handling an average of 23,400 boardings per weekday. It is important to the MARTA system for a number of reasons. It is adjacent to the MARTA headquarters building, located just north of the Armour Yard Rail Services Facility, which allows trains to come into service at a more central location than was previously possible, and at an important junction point for the future Belt Line and Clifton Corridor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doraville station</span> MARTA rail station

Doraville is a subway station in Doraville, Georgia, and the northern terminus on the Gold Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. Doraville serves as the ground for the Doraville rail yard for the Gold line, with a capacity of 30 rail cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckhead station</span> MARTA rail station

Buckhead is an at-grade subway station that serves the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. This station is the first station only served by the Red Line. It is located in the Buckhead neighborhood in the median of State Route 400, a limited access highway, at Peachtree Road/State Route 141. The station is in easy walking distance of many offices, hotels and shopping centers, including Lenox Square, although the Lenox MARTA station provides easier access to the mall. The buc, a zero-fare bus service, also provides transportation to the surrounding area. The Buckhead Station also features Zipcars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenox station (MARTA)</span> MARTA rail station

Lenox is an at-grade subway station in Atlanta, Georgia, serving the Gold Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Located in the Buckhead district, it provides access to Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza, which are located on Peachtree Street across the street from one another, as well as the nearby neighborhoods of Lenox Park and Pine Hills. It also provides connecting bus service to Piedmont Park, Atlanta Botanical Garden, and Ansley Mall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vine City station</span> MARTA rail station

Vine City is an at-grade train station in Atlanta, Georgia, serving the Blue and Green lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. It is one of only two stations served by the Green and Blue lines at all times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station</span> MARTA rail station

Brookhaven/Oglethorpe is a subway station in Brookhaven, Georgia, on the Gold Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. An elevated station, it is located one mile south of Oglethorpe University. The station provides connecting bus service to North Druid Hills, Toco Hills, North DeKalb Mall, the Peachtree Boulevard business district, and the Georgia Department of Labor. South of this station, the line crosses into Fulton County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Park station (MARTA)</span> MARTA rail station in Georgia, US

College Park is a subway station in College Park, Georgia, United States, serving the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. It opened on June 18, 1988. This station mainly serves College Park and surrounding areas, including Morrow, Riverdale, Clayton County, and South Fulton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airport station (MARTA)</span> MARTA rail station

Airport is an elevated train station and southern terminus on the Red and Gold lines of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system, located at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. It is served by the Gold Line (4:30am/1:30am), while the Red Line generally serves it all day until 8:30 PM on weekdays and 8:50 PM on weekends when there is no scheduled track maintenance. It features one of only two Ridestores, the only other one being at Five Points.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kensington station (MARTA)</span> MARTA rail station

Kensington is an at-grade train station in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, serving the Blue Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. It has one island platform with 1 track on each side. This station opened on June 26, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Springs station</span> MARTA rail station

North Springs is an elevated subway station in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and the northern terminus for the Red Line of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) rail system. North Springs is primarily a commuter station for Atlanta workers and university students, featuring a large parking deck and direct access on and off State Route 400, a major highway for commuters, so that drivers can avoid surface roads. North Springs attracts commuters from Roswell, Alpharetta and other towns north on State Route 400. As the northern terminus, this station is a hub for buses that continue on north, with connecting bus services to Sandy Springs, the city of Alpharetta, North Point Mall, the city of Roswell, the Ameris Bank Amphitheatre at Encore Park, the Mansell Road and Windward Parkway park-and-rides, and even as far north as the city of Milton. This station also provides bus assistance from North Springs High School via MARTA bus route 87.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MARTA rail</span> Rapid transit network in Atlanta, Georgia

The MARTA rail network, a component of the MARTA transit system in Metro Atlanta, has four service lines: the Red, Gold, Blue, and Green lines. The Red and Gold lines mainly run along the North-Northeast corridor, and the Blue and Green Lines run along the West-East corridor. The two corridors connect at the Five Points station, which is the only station where transfers are possible between all four lines. In 2023, the system had a ridership of 31,110,300, or about 90,500 per weekday as of the third quarter of 2024.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority was created as the first public mass transit agency in metropolitan Atlanta. Its formation in 1965 was a result of the campaigning efforts of governmental planning agencies and Atlanta businessmen. The system broke ground on its rail system in 1975.

The transportation system of Georgia is a cooperation of complex systems of infrastructure comprising over 1,200 miles (1,900 km) of interstates and more than 120 airports and airbases serving a regional population of 59,425 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Line (MARTA)</span> Rapid transit line in Metro Atlanta, Georgia

The Red Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between North Springs and Airport stations, running through Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, Atlanta, East Point and College Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Line (MARTA)</span> Rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system

The Blue Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Hamilton E. Holmes and Indian Creek stations, running through Atlanta, Decatur and portions of unincorporated DeKalb County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Line (MARTA)</span> Rapid transit line in Metro Atlanta, Georgia

The Green Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Bankhead and Edgewood/​Candler Park stations, running exclusively inside the Atlanta city limits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in Atlanta</span> Aspect of the history of Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Streetcars originally operated in Atlanta downtown and into the surrounding areas from 1871 until the final line's closure in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transportation in Atlanta</span>

Atlanta's transportation system is a complex multimodal system serving the city of Atlanta, Georgia, widely recognized as a key regional and global hub for passenger and freight transportation. The system facilitates inter- and intra-city travel, and includes the world's busiest airport, several major freight rail classification yards, a comprehensive network of freeways, heavy rail, light rail, local buses, and multi-use trails.

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