Photos: MARTA's futuristic new trains have arrived in Atlanta!

After several years of funding discussions, design debates, and manufacturing both domestically and overseas, the first example of MARTA’s bold, futuristic new train fleet was at last unveiled in action today. 

The sneak peek at Stadler US Inc.’s first CQ400 train for the transit agency came during the State of MARTA 2025: Next Stop: The Future of Transit event at Lindbergh Center station this morning.  

Collie Greenwood, MARTA general manager and CEO, outlined investments the agency is making to update the system (from downtown’s Five Points overhaul and the city’s first bus-rapid transit line to the new Communications-Based Train Control system) in advance of major events such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Super Bowl. 

But nothing generated as much interest as a glimpse as the slick new railcars. 

“When I stepped onto that new train this morning, it felt like stepping into the future,” said Greenwood at the Uptown Atlanta event. “These new railcars are an inspiration to everyone at MARTA and to our customers who will get to experience a cleaner and safer ride—and hopefully one that shows them how transit can make their lives easier and their trip more enjoyable.”

Beyond state-of-the-art aesthetics, the new CQ400 trains will have a number of functionality upgrades. Each will be a four-car set with open gangways in between, allowing MARTA riders to pass between more than one car at once. That will make inter-car movement for passengers and security staff easier, per the agency. 

Charging stations, digital maps, computerized service information, and forward and inward-facing seats are also included. One goal for MARTA is to provide more room for bikes, strollers, luggage, and people in wheelchairs, officials have said.  

According to MARTA, the front exterior of each railcar will have a lighted “smile” in either red, gold, blue, or green that denotes the color of each approaching rail line.

Testing on the first two vehicles to arrive in Atlanta this month is expected to take roughly a year. They are the first models of their kind to operate in the U.S., making the testing phase time-consuming but critical, MARTA officials previously told Urbanize Atlanta. 

However, MARTA heads have said additional trains will be delivered after January that don’t require such a long testing period. That means, should all go as planned, the first new MARTA train will go into revenue service in July, per the transit agency.

Today, many of MARTA’s 300 railcars date to the agency’s 1970s beginnings and are prone to breakdowns, agency leaders have said.

MARTA entered a contract in 2019 to purchase $646 million worth of modernized new railcars from Stadler—funded via MARTA’s capital improvement program—marking the largest procurement deal ever for both the veteran train builder and transit agency.

MARTA’s first new railcar body was the subject of an unveiling party in Atlanta before Christmas in 2022, after it had been manufactured in Hungary by Stadler. The next stop was Salt Lake City, where Stadler is building out the fleet to MARTA’s specifications—and piquing the interest of transit nuts during test runs across the mountainous landscape. 

MARTA launched an initiative in 2021 called “Your Ride, You Decide” that let people vote on four exterior options for the new fleet.

The chosen exterior designs most closely resemble the conceptual scheme called “Minimalist: Option A”—if not even more minimalist than originally envisioned. 

Both Minimalist options floated by MARTA in 2021 were designed to evoke speed, officials said at the time.

Have a closer look at what they mean in the gallery above. 

...

Follow us on social media: 

Twitter / Facebook/and now: Instagram  

• MARTA-related news, discussion (Urbanize Atlanta)