Derailed MARTA train at airport to be removed by crane Thursday (Atlanta: renting, college)

[toll_booth]

https://www.11alive.com/article/traf...8-6bff759e0a2d

Two days ago a MARTA train derailed near the airport. Nobody was hurt and nobody got stuck on the train except the operator, but the derailment severed rail service between College Park and the airport, requiring a bus bridge.

This won't get fixed until at least later today, when they have to bring in a crane to remove the derailed cars. Ugh--this just 2.5 weeks prior to the Super Bowl. At least no passengers were on board!

Now how the hell did this happen? The video makes it look like train derailed at that crossover just north of the Airport station. Maybe the operator was going too fast? MARTA hasn't said yet.

[ATLTJL]

You know....

I enjoy ribbing MARTA as much as the next guy. But I really hope for the sake of our city, MARTA has its stuff together for the Super Bowl.

I think in this day and age, people are used to Uber and Lyft, and most people who come here will rely heavily on MARTA to get around instead of renting cars. Overcrowded trains, infrequent service, etc. could really impact a lot of people and deliver a massive black eye to the city. It would be inexcusable because unlike weather, it's one of those things that could not be rationalized as just "one of those things" and would really indicate just plain old poor planning.

For that reason, I really hope MARTA knows how many trains to run and where to put them to keep things moving smoothly. It's asked for people to use it and count on it...it's about to get that wish. I hope it can deliver. I would call it the single most important thing for us to get right.

[Need4Camaro]

Originally Posted by toll_booth

https://www.11alive.com/article/traf...8-6bff759e0a2d

Two days ago a MARTA train derailed near the airport. Nobody was hurt and nobody got stuck on the train except the operator, but the derailment severed rail service between College Park and the airport, requiring a bus bridge.

This won't get fixed until at least later today, when they have to bring in a crane to remove the derailed cars. Ugh--this just 2.5 weeks prior to the Super Bowl. At least no passengers were on board!

Now how the hell did this happen? The video makes it look like train derailed at that crossover just north of the Airport station. Maybe the operator was going too fast? MARTA hasn't said yet.

Per the article:

MARTA officials said it appears the train, which consist of six cars, was heading in the right direction with four cars crossing the interlocking without incident when the sixth rail car failed to follow the proper route which resulted in the derailment of the fifth and sixth rail cars.

[citidata18]

Accidents happen and nothing's perfect. Just like the airport power outage, people will forget about it and move on with their lives once things are back up and running again.

I'm sure NYC's subway has different types of issues as well. You just don't hear about them as much.

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Accidents happen and nothing's perfect. Just like the airport power outage, people will forget about it and move on with their lives once things are back up and running again.

I'm sure NYC's subway has different types of issues as well. You just don't hear about them as much.

When it comes to Atlanta people will always remember and bring it up, just to prove that it's the worst city in the United States and the opposite of Tokyo. They remember when the lighting of the Olympic torch got stuck.

Meanwhile NYC's subway is said to be perfect and efficient, always on time, just like Tokyo.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by SEAandATL

When it comes to Atlanta people will always remember and bring it up, just to prove that it's the worst city in the United States and the opposite of Tokyo. They remember when the lighting of the Olympic torch got stuck.

Meanwhile NYC's subway is said to be perfect and efficient, always on time, just like Tokyo.

FWIW, and this is just me, I hadn't heard anyone talk about that Olympics incident, nor did I know about it myself until you just mentioned it.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

You know....

I enjoy ribbing MARTA as much as the next guy. But I really hope for the sake of our city, MARTA has its stuff together for the Super Bowl.

I think in this day and age, people are used to Uber and Lyft, and most people who come here will rely heavily on MARTA to get around instead of renting cars. Overcrowded trains, infrequent service, etc. could really impact a lot of people and deliver a massive black eye to the city. It would be inexcusable because unlike weather, it's one of those things that could not be rationalized as just "one of those things" and would really indicate just plain old poor planning.

For that reason, I really hope MARTA knows how many trains to run and where to put them to keep things moving smoothly. It's asked for people to use it and count on it...it's about to get that wish. I hope it can deliver. I would call it the single most important thing for us to get right.

I hope so too. I'm always hearing of some kind of delay almost every time I use Marta. Sometimes I wonder if they forget to turn the alerts off and it just repeats because it's hard to believe...

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Accidents happen and nothing's perfect. Just like the airport power outage, people will forget about it and move on with their lives once things are back up and running again.

I'm sure NYC's subway has different types of issues as well. You just don't hear about them as much.

It's hard for me to compare the two because NYC'S transit is so much more complex than Atanta's. I was reminded of that when I recently visited. Just looking at their train map is enough to make me feel confused. I was so embarrassed having to look at the map. Lol. Better to plan ahead always!!

[wasel]

I have noticed lately that Marta train rides feel much "jerkier" than they used to. I used to be able to stand up without really holding on but that's not the case now. Not sure what the cause of that is but apparently it's' something.

[JPD]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

For that reason, I really hope MARTA knows how many trains to run and where to put them to keep things moving smoothly. It's asked for people to use it and count on it...it's about to get that wish. I hope it can deliver. I would call it the single most important thing for us to get right.

As a daily MARTA user, it's very concerning to me. They barely have it together on a regular day. On Monday morning this week, six southbound trains arrived at the East Point station while I was waiting on a northbound train to arrive. That's an extreme example, but the equilibrium between trains in wildly inconsistent.