MARTA restores partial train service two days after train derailed

ATLANTA — MARTA has restored partial train service to and from the Atlanta airport, two days after a train derailed.

The derailed train was removed late Thursday night.

MARTA officials said two cars that derailed near the airport Tuesday night are now back on the track.

MARTA officials say two cars on an out-of-service train derailed around 9 p.m. Tuesday at the airport station, causing train service to stop on the red and gold lines.

No passengers were on board, and the rail operator was not hurt.

Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes was at the site Thursday, where a crane was supposed to arrive at 10 a.m. The crane eventually arrived at the scene around 2 p.m.

Fernandes spoke to officials, who said the process to right the cars was slow because they wanted to make absolutely certain the right safety measures were in place before they started removing them.

By 4 p.m., crews had attached cables to the cars and were working to make sure they were secure.

MARTA announced the cars were back on track around 6 p.m. and will be moved back to the rail yard later Thursday night.

Next, crews will assess if there was any damage to the tracks.

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Officials said that when the train went off the tracks, it caused a fire under one of the cars.

MARTA Chief of Rail Operations David Springstead told Fernandes he won't know just how much damage the derailment has caused to the tracks underneath until the crane removes the cars.

As soon as the rigging was put into place and everything was safe, they slowly picked up one vehicle at a time.

Several viewers have reached out to Channel 2 Action News to ask what took MARTA so long.

"It's better to be slow, methodical and tactical," Springstead said. "Nothing is delayed, it's just (important) to do it right and to do it safely. We can do it because we have the luxury of running rail service right now."

Passengers trying to get to the airport had to get off at the College Park station, where a shuttle train and buses took people back and forth.

With the Super Bowl coming up in two weeks, hundreds of thousands of people will flood into metro Atlanta, and city officials are encouraging them to use MARTA.

Fernandes asked Springstead if they are prepared if something like this happens again.

"We have well-maintained track. We have well-maintained rail cars," Springstead said. "We also have a response team that has done a wonderful job."

Cox Media Group