MARTA's new railcar manufacturer plants flag near Lindbergh station

The Swiss company building MARTA’s modernized new railcar fleet will soon have a front-row seat to the vehicles in action. 

Stadler announced this week the first major international expansion of its Stadler Signalling Division will set up shop in Uptown Atlanta, the retooled mixed-use hub formerly called Lindbergh that’s credited as being Atlanta’s first large-scale, transit-focused development. 

Company reps tell Urbanize Atlanta that Stadler is leasing 7,236 square feet on the eighth floor of Uptown’s east office tower. The signaling office will include laboratory space and a hub for Stadler’s growing US team with space for future expansion, all steps from MARTA’s Lindbergh Center station. 

Stadler’s signaling division provides custom and digital signaling solutions—that is, systems that control railway vehicles and prevent collisions—for mainline railways, metro systems, branch lines, and depots. 

MARTA awarded Stadler a $500 million contract last year to replace its current signaling system with a more tech-driven one that’s communications-based. That followed a larger, $646-million contract between Atlanta’s transit agency and Stadler in 2019 for 224 railcars scheduled to start replacing MARTA’s aging fleet this year. The latter marked the largest expenditure in MARTA history. 

Stadler officials called the MARTA signaling deal a driving factor in the company’s decision to plant roots in Atlanta at Uptown, near MARTA’s headquarters. 

The location was picked “strategically… to strengthen the partnership with MARTA and help facilitate close operational and technical collaboration with the customer and ensure optimal project management,” per a Stadler announcement. 

The Uptown office is described as a key part of Stadler Signalling’s growth plan in the U.S. Access to skilled professionals, “robust” infrastructure, a “growing network of other Swiss companies,” and Uptown’s slate of food, beverage, fitness, and leisure options were cited as other factors for choosing the location. 

"With the new office in Atlanta, we are not only establishing a physical presence near our existing customer and other North American customers but also providing our employees with a modern, flexible, and scalable work environment,” Marc Trippel, Stadler’s executive vice president division signaling, said in a statement. 

Spread across 47 acres, Uptown includes nearly 1 million square feet of office space, 120,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, access to growing multi-use greenway PATH400, and communal gathering spaces. 

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