Gold Line (MARTA)

Last updated

Gold Line
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
  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 northernmost 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] 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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "nycsubway.org: Atlanta, Georgia". www.nycsubway.org. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sams, Douglas. "Jacoby eyes MARTA rail to Ford site". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Getting There on MARTA - Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority". Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on August 1, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  4. "North-South Rail Line - MARTA". Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on August 10, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  5. "Northeast-South Rail Line - MARTA". Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on August 10, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  6. "MARTA - Getting There - Rail Schedules & Maps". Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on March 8, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  7. "MARTA - Getting There - Rail Schedules & Maps". Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. Archived from the original on December 29, 2006. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  8. "MARTA launches color-coded rail system". www.metro-magazine.com. Metro Magazine. October 2, 2009. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  9. "Rail Stations & Schedules". www.itsmarta.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2009. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  10. Hansen, Zachary (March 25, 2024). "Atlanta mayor announces 4 new MARTA rail stations, including near Beltline". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises . Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  11. Bunch, Riley (April 11, 2024). "Mayor Dickens announces locations of new Atlanta MARTA stations". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises . Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Ariel Hart (February 11, 2010). "MARTA changes "yellow" line to "gold"". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
  13. "http://itsmarta.com/ne-dor-overview.aspx"
  14. "http://itsmarta.com/ne-bro-overview.aspx"
  15. "http://itsmarta.com/ne-len-overview.aspx"
  16. "http://itsmarta.com/ne-lin-overview.aspx"
  17. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-art-overview.aspx"
  18. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-mid-overview.aspx"
  19. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-nor-overview.aspx"
  20. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-civ-overview.aspx"
  21. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-pea-overview.aspx"
  22. "Peachtree Center Station Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DDOKOpKmJA"
  23. "Five Points Station Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkLKot2vk3Y"
  24. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-gar-overview.aspx"
  25. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-wes-overview.aspx"
  26. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-oak-overview.aspx"
  27. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-lak-overview.aspx"
  28. "http://itsmarta.com/ns-eas-overview.aspx"
  29. "College Park Station http://itsmarta.com/ns-col-overview.aspx"
  30. "Airport Station Tour https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNcj6GOTen0"
Template:Attached KML/Gold Line (MARTA)
KML is from Wikidata