Atlantans already walk it, bike it and run it. Now, the Atlanta Beltline is asking residents to imagine another way of moving around the loop: by train.
On the evening of Sept. 3, Atlanta Beltline staff, transit planners and community members gathered at Lee + White Food Hall along the Westside Trail for the fourth and final Beltline Transit Study meeting, where officials presented a proposed 22-mile light rail vision, including routes, stations, MARTA connections, service frequency and ridership projections, while gathering public input on a plan that is not yet fully approved or finalized.
The study began in 2023, but the four Beltline Transit Study meetings represent only part of the public engagement surrounding transit. Beltline Principal Engineer Shaun Green said the broader effort has included 49 community engagement meetings and comments from more than 13,000 people. Sept. 3 marked the fourth and final meeting specifically dedicated to the Beltline Transit Study.
“Everybody has an opinion about transit,” Green told the crowd.
Those opinions have helped inform a long-term vision for 22 miles of light rail around the Beltline, connections to the streetcar east and west and proposed MARTA heavy rail infill stations. The plan prioritizes last-mile connectivity between the Beltline and MARTA stations, with Beltline officials expecting transit to eventually be constructed at a pace of about two miles per year.
Christina Arthur, the Beltline’s director of transit strategy and operations, framed the expansion as part of how Atlanta responds to future growth.
“This transit expansion is our opportunity to grow in an equitable [way] while enhancing… quality of life,” Arthur said. She said the Beltline, City of Atlanta and MARTA are working together to improve mobility and access for residents and visitors.
In practical terms, the proposed network would operate as three overlapping routes: a Beltline Loop traveling the full corridor, and Northern and Southern loops connecting the Beltline with Downtown. Trains would run in both directions from 6 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., providing 18.5 hours of daily service. Each route would operate every 20 minutes, but because the routes overlap, riders would see a train at each platform every 10 minutes.
The service plan is also designed to offer a one-seat ride throughout the network rather than requiring riders to transfer. Proposed MARTA infill stations would further connect Beltline light rail with the existing heavy rail system.
The study also tackles a longstanding geographic challenge: northwest Atlanta. Unlike other portions of the Beltline, the northwest quadrant does not have an abandoned railroad corridor available for transit. Planners evaluated 18 potential corridors before narrowing them to five and ultimately three: CSX, Peachtree and Ottley.
The CSX alignment emerged as the preferred option, offering the fastest average speed and lowest travel time of the three, along with the lowest projected capital cost, highest ridership and direct service to Piedmont Hospital, the largest employment center along the planned BeltLine loop.
In the southwest and southeast quadrants, the recommended stops include Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway, Joseph E. Boone Boulevard, Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Langhorn/Enota, Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard, Lawton Street, Murphy Avenue, Metropolitan/Pittsburgh Yards, Pryor Road, Milton Avenue/Hank Aaron Drive, Hill Street, Boulevard and Glenwood Avenue.
Planners are also looking closely at how far apart stations should be. Green explained that the existing Beltline trail gives people walking, biking or using other forms of micro mobility another way to travel between stops, allowing stations to be spaced farther apart while helping trains move more quickly. Most proposed stations would be roughly one-half to three-quarters of a mile apart.
Ridership projections estimate approximately 4.2 million annual boardings, with 40% of projected riders considered transit dependent and 21 percent of trips expected to be new transit trips.
“We are providing the service to the people who need it most,” Green said, “and we’re decongesting the roadways for the people who don’t care [about transit].” In other words, the implementation of Beltline Rail will benefit both transit users and car riders.
The full three-route system currently carries an estimated $3.5 billion capital cost, excluding proposed MARTA infill stations. The next steps include pursuing funding and advancing planning and engineering with MARTA and the city. The study lays out a long-term vision, not a fully approved or funded transit system.
For now, Atlantans can experience a different kind of movement around the Beltline at the Lantern Parade on Sept. 19.
Residents still have an opportunity to shape what could eventually move alongside the trail. Public comments on the Beltline Transit Study are open through Nov. 3.
The Beltline already connects neighborhoods by foot and bike. Whether trains will eventually join them remains undecided, but after years of planning and thousands of public comments, the vision of what that transit system could look like is coming into sharper focus.
