MARTA leaders are split on the transit authority’s single-tracking policies after a June 2 Shakira concert at State Farm Arena left fans packed on train platforms with unexpected delays and miscommunication.
At a June 12 MARTA work session, board members and officials discussed the agency’s rules regarding planned single tracking, which is when trains run in both directions on one track. MARTA has earned a reputation for its practice, which cuts down on service and increases wait times.
The Shakira concert drew concern among riders and officials as attendees like at-large City Councilmember Matt Westmoreland, who tweeted with excitement about taking the “faster and way cheaper” train to the show instead of a car or scooter.
Hours later, he followed up with his tweet to announce that he rode a scooter home due to single-track communication and “long headways.” The MARTA social media first blamed it on a mechanical issue, though the agency later explained it was scheduled maintenance between the Garnett and Civic Center stations.
“Unfortunately, what happened is probably a deterrent for people using (MARTA) in the future,” MARTA Board Member Katie Powers said.
Westmoreland told the Atlanta-Journal Constitution his group missed two northbound trains that boarded on the southbound platform because there weren’t any announcements about the single-tracking. When he saw the wait times, the councilmember opted to leave the station.
MARTA Chief Operations Officer George Wright said he wants to improve communications moving forward through social media, the website and platform announcements. But Board Member Jim Durrett asked the COO to go further.
“There’s no question in your mind that we need to rethink this strategic single-tracking planning guideline?” Durrett asked.
The board member suggested that the agency modify its “matrix” for single-tracking, depending on the crowds. COO Wright said the team decides on its single-tracking policy in a few ways: first, employees get attendee forecasts from venues, event organizers, and the agency’s ridership data.
Then they use a “decision matrix.” According to the matrix, Shakira’s concert would fall under a “small crowd.” State Farm Arena concerts and events with less than 18,000 people fall under permitted single-tracking. Larger events, like Pride events and Mercedes Benz Stadium, don’t.
Wright said the smaller events “happen quite regularly.” MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood said that single-tracking is an industry standard, but the numbers were a surprise. In the past eight months, over 560 small events have been held. There’s been single-tracking for most of them.
“When I first heard them, they were astonishing,” Greenwood said.
Several board members pushed for a change to the single-tracking system. Still, Wright stressed that the practice was necessary for the heavy rail network. But he said the officials are going to “look at” the policy moving forward, especially ahead of events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We single-track to ensure we can keep our Wayside infrastructure and the platform areas of our station in a state of good repair,” Wright said.
This has been an issue for years. I stopped attending United games because it often took me longer to get from MBS to Sandy Springs than the match itself.
What contingency plans or alternative service models could MARTA implement during planned single-tracking to maintain reliability in the event of unexpected surges in ridership, especially when forecasting tools underestimate attendance at events?
I understand maintenance is essential, but holding single-tracking during a major concert without clear communication puts too much strain on riders. Hopefully, this will push MARTA to rethink how these decisions are made, especially with more big events coming up.