Blue Line (MARTA)

The Blue Line is a rapid transit line in the MARTA rail system. It operates between Hamilton E. Holmes and Indian Creek stations, running through Atlanta, Decatur and portions of unincorporated DeKalb County.

Blue Line
A Blue Line train stopped at Indian Creek
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Atlanta, Georgia
Termini	Hamilton E. Holmes (west) Indian Creek (east)
Stations	15 (5 West, Five Points, 9 East)
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	MARTA rail
Operator(s)	MARTA
Rolling stock	See MARTA rail#Rolling stock
History
Opened	1979
Technical
Character	at grade, elevated, underground
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 750 V DC
Route map Blue Line highlighted in blue Show interactive map Legend  Blue  W5 Hamilton E. Holmes I-20 W4 West Lake  Green  P4 Bankhead Joseph E. Boone W3 Ashby W2 Vine City W1 GWCC/​CNN Center 0 Five Points Red Gold E1 Georgia State I-75 / I-85 Downtown Connector E2 King Memorial Krog Street/Hulsey Yard E3 Inman Park/​Reynoldstown  Green  E4 Edgewood/​Candler Park E5 East Lake E6 Decatur E7 Avondale Avondale Yard E8 Kensington I-285  Blue  E9 Indian Creek Key Blue Line Green Line Blue/Green (weekdays) Blue/Green (all days) Red/Gold Yard tracks All stations are accessible This diagram: view talk edit Show route diagram

History

What is now called the Blue Line contains some of the first sections of the MARTA rail to open. On February 19, 1975, construction on what was then known as the East Line began.^[1] On June 30, 1979, service on the East Line began operating between Avondale and Georgia State.^[2][1] On December 22 the same year, the West Line was opened, between Five Points station and what was then known as Hightower station (now Hamilton E. Holmes station).^[1] The combined Hightower-Avondale route became known as the East-West Line.^[3]

On December 29, 1992,^[1] a branch (then known as the Proctor Creek Line^[3]) of the East-West Line to Bankhead station opened.^[4] The following year, on June 26, 1993, Kensington and Indian Creek stations on the East Line opened.^[1] This was the first time MARTA rail extended beyond Interstate 285.^[4]

In 2009, MARTA introduced a color-coded system of naming for its rail lines.^[5] As a result, the former East-West Line became the Blue Line.^[6]

Future

On March 25, 2024, Andre Dickens, the mayor of Atlanta, announced plans for four new infill stations on the MARTA rail network.^[7] On April 11, Dickens announced that one of those stations will be on the Blue Line: namely, Krog Street/Hulsey Yard, located on the Blue/Green Line's shared section.^[8]

Stations

^[9][10]

listed from west to east

Station	Code	Opened	Rail Line Transfer
Hamilton E. Holmes	W5	December 22, 1979[1]
West Lake	W4
Ashby	W3		Green
Vine City	W2		Green
GWCC/CNN Center	W1		Green
Five Points[note 1]			Green   Red   Gold
Georgia State	E1	June 30, 1979[1]	Green
King Memorial	E2		Green
Inman Park/Reynoldstown	E3		Green [note 2]
Edgewood/Candler Park	E4		Green [note 2]
East Lake	E5
Decatur	E6
Avondale	E7		Green [note 3]
Kensington	E8	June 26, 1993[1]
Indian Creek	E9

Notes

1. The platforms for what is now the Red and Gold Lines opened in 1981, two years after the East-West Line platforms.
2. The Green Line only operates here on weekdays.
3. Only some Green Line trips reach Avondale, and only on weekdays.