For MARTA, 2026 forecast looks rather promising

Following an era of leadership changes, friction with city leaders, and delays related to new transit line construction and station renovations, MARTA is forecasting a bright outlook for 2026, with modernized vehicles, upgraded stations, and improved functionality ahead, per the agency. 

Service enhancements and major capital projects including new CQ400 railcars, a contactless fare payment system, and metro Atlanta’s first Bus Rapid Transit line are all on the docket for 2026, with a goal of modernizing customer experiences and improving reliability and safety. Jonathan Hunt, MARTA’s interim general manager and CEO, said the “unprecedented number of high-impact projects” will bump up MARTA from “a good transit system to a great one” in 2026. 

“This year is one of the most consequential and exciting in our history,” Hunt said in a statement. “Whether you are a daily commuter, special events rider, or a visitor arriving for the World Cup, you will experience a safer, cleaner, and more reliable MARTA [this year].”

Perhaps most significantly, MARTA reports the region’s first BRT line—now called the MARTA Rapid A-Line—is targeting a spring or summer 2026 debut. The rapid bus service will link downtown Atlanta to Summerhill, Peoplestown, and the Beltline’s Southside Trail project (still under construction, but aiming to fully open prior to June) by way of a 14-stop, five-mile loop. Expect dedicated BRT lanes, off-board payment, and level boarding at buses’ front and rear doors.

Pining to see those sleek new CQ400 railcars zipping through the city? MARTA says the “most technologically advanced trains in the country” will start phasing out their aging fleet this year. 

Today, four CQ400 train sets are undergoing testing on rail lines around Atlanta.  

According to MARTA, “multiple” new train sets will be in service by the time global 2026 FIFA World Cup crowds flock to Atlanta this summer.

Speaking of Atlanta’s World Cup, MARTA says its readiness plan for the month of matches beginning in mid-June will include visible improvements such as better lighting, cleanliness, and multilingual wayfinding. Also expect a beefed-up presence of police, safety teams, and “transit ambassadors” throughout the tournament, per MARTA. 

This year will also see Better Breeze, a new contactless fare payment system, installed across the entire transit network. A customer transition period will run between March 28 and May 2. 

Expect new payment features (so long, MARTA cards) that allow customers to tap bank cards or mobile wallets at faregates or fareboxes to ride. New faregates that can be monitored and adjusted remotely—an effort to reduce fare evasion—are being implemented, too. 

April 18 is also circled on MARTA’s calendar this year. That’s when the agency’s NextGen Bus Network is scheduled to launch, with a goal of offering 15-minute bus service frequency to three times as many metro Atlantans. 

Prior to that, on March 7, the on-demand MARTA Reach van service is scheduled to begin within 12 defined zones. The goal is to provide quick first or last-mile connectivity to bus or train routes. It’ll operate 18 hours per day, seven days a week.  

Come spring this year, Five Points Station is scheduled to boast platforms that MARTA officials call cleaner and safer by way of new ceilings, lighting, and flooring, as part of the agency’s $1-billion Station Rehabilitation Program. The station will “remain open, safe, and welcoming during the World Cup," per transit officials. 

Lastly, MARTA is planning to begin overhauling its digital tools in 2026, to include real-time bus and train tracking, along with streamlined trip planning, on an updated mobile app. 

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Meanwhile … 

In related transit news, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens has been vocal lately about his wishes to see Amtrak uproot its sole Atlanta station from its rather inconvenient Brookwood/Peachtree Station location to the heart of downtown, as Saporta Report relays. 

Dickens is also pulling for MARTA to relocate its headquarters from near Lindbergh station in southern Buckhead to the transit agency’s most centralized hub—Five Points MARTA station, where deconstruction for a $230-million overhaul began two months ago. MARTA is reportedly weighing two options: To either keep its current HQ or move operations to 2 Peachtree Street, a former office skyscraper where a mixed-used transformation has been percolating since 2022 but has yet to break ground. 

The latter option would put MARTA brass at the doorstep of both Five Points station and Underground Atlanta.

As for the Amtrak relocation, Dickens whittled down two leading options for locations to build a new multimodal station during a Dec. 2 roundtable: A site near Georgia World Congress Center linked with active railroad lines would work, but the mayor is strongly in favor of building the Amtrak hub within rising megaproject Centennial Yards. 

Dickens is pulling for easy MARTA access in addition to Amtrak options in hopes of creating Atlanta’s version of Grand Central Station or Penn Station—an idea he hopes reaches the ears of lawmakers during the new legislative session this year.   

The Atlanta Regional Commission is expected to present its recommendations for the top Amtrak locations to the ARC board this month, per Saporta Report. 

For now, Atlanta counts just one intercity rail option for passengers, the Amtrak Crescent, a route between New York City and New Orleans. 

Atlanta’s current Amtrak station was built in 1918 in what was then a suburban setting, designed for a small number of passengers. Other drawbacks include no parking, no connections to local transit, an undersized waiting room, and poor access from the station building to its single platform below, which is a particular challenge for disabled passengers, according to an Amtrak report from 2024. 

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