MARTA North Springs/Doraville Branches

North Springs Branch

North Springs. Elevated, two tracks, island platform. Terminal station on the North Springs line. Opened December 16, 2000. This station has an arched copper colored roof which covers the middle portion of the platform. Columns in the station are shaped like inverted cones. The columns contain round metal objects that look like the planets. Some columns contain concrete that give the illusion of orange peeling with the metal object inside. The columns represent that rapid transit cause no pollution and pollution is leaving the station into space. The lower level of the station houses the mezzanine and a bus to rail transfer area. There is a central cashiering area outside fare control for paying for long term parking. Tail tracks extend beyond the station, their only purpose is to allow room if a train overshoots the platform. The primary purpose of this station is to serve southbound commuters from the northern suburbs. The station has a massive six story parking deck with 2,200 spaces which serves commuters exiting from GA Route 400 on a dedicated off ramp from the highway.

Sandy Springs. Underground, two tracks, side platforms. Opened December 16, 2000. This station has white tile walls with colored tile patterns repeated throughout the station. The ceiling has a thick waffle design to it, and is relatively high, compared to many other underground stations. The station has glass elevator shafts from street level to the mezzanine and from there to the platform. A pedestrian tunnel is on the north side of the station, crossing underneath the road. The south side of the station has a parking deck for 1,100 cars, and a bus area outside fare control. This station also has a central cashiering area like the one at North Springs.

Dunwoody. The Dunwoody station is elevated, with an island platform. It opened on June 8, 1996. This station has three levels to it. The first level allows for bus loading/unloading; the second level has the faregates; the third level consists of the island platform and trackways. There are walkways to two parking decks and Perimeter Shopping Mall. The wall opposite the faregates is curved glass with abstract art etched in it. The platform-level roof is red and gabled and in the center, instead of a point, it is domed like a semicircle. The roof supports are painted red, and the rest of the station is also accented in red. The station is made of cement. From the platform, you can see the tops of the parking decks on both sides.

Medical Center. The Medical Center station is at ground level, with two side platforms. It opened on June 8, 1996. This station has an arched copper roof that covers the huge mezzanine that is above the platform. The roof trusses have the appearence of the structure of a steel roller coaster and are painted in dark red. The mezzanine has the faregates and a bus loading/unloading area. There is a round "hole" in the mezzanine floor, through which you can see the tracks below. The platform is at ground level, with walls along the platform edges (about four feet high on the southbound side, six feet high on the northbound side). The ceiling above the platform has a square waffle design on it. Except for the arched roof, everything is made of cement. There are scrolling marquees along the platform. On June 2, 1996 the American Public Transit Association (APTA) and MARTA had a big gala reception on the mezzanine level of Medical Center. In December, 1999 a new diamond crossover interlocking was placed into service at Medical Center.

Buckhead. The Buckhead station consists of an island platform with two tracks, located in the median of Georgia Route 400. It was open on June 8, 1996, with Opening Cermonies conducted by Joseph Lowery, a MARTA Board Member and civil rights advocate. From the street, you have to descend a set of stairs to reach the station. From the platform you can't see the highway, because the cement walls are high, but you can hear it. The walls of the mezzanine are square white tiles with pink and burgundy square tiles patterned on it. Toward the top of the walls, there are big tiles with abstract artwork painted in mainly primary colors, this same artwork is also found on the walls of the platform. The only access to the platform is on the south end of the station. The north end has an emergency exit. A roof covers the platform from the south end to a little over halfway down the platform. The roof has four spires spaced evenly that are shaped like pyramids with square bases that are as wide as the platform. The sections of the roof between the spires have a rectangular waffle design to them. There are scrolling marquees along the platform.

Doraville Branch

Doraville. The Doraville station is elevated with a single island platform between two tracks. This is the last stop on the northeast Doraville line. It opened in December, 1992. The station has a gabled green metal roof over the middle portion of the platform and it goes down to cover the rail to bus area, also. All the columns and walls are made of cement. Facing the southbound side, you can see freight line tracks that run parallel to the line, and just beyond that is the GM Doraville Assembly Plant. Facing the northbound side, you can see the roof of the bus to rail transfer area. Looking also on the northbound side, toward the south end of the station, you can see the parking deck for commuters and long term parking. The two parking decks can hold 1,100 cars.

Chamblee. The Chamblee station is elevated with a single island platform between two tracks. It opened on December 19, 1987. The roof of this station covers the entire platform. A feature of this station is the ends of it, which has an angled glass roof that goes from the roof of the station to the ground level entrance. Underneath the glass is where the stairs and escalators are to access the platform. There is a rail to bus transfer area on the north side of the station. There is a train storage track north of the station platform, and a shop building containing two tracks with pits.

Brookhaven-Oglethorpe University. Opened December 15, 1984. This elevated station consists of an island platform between two tracks. A roof covers the middle portion of the station. The roof is shaped like a rounded rectangle at the top made from corrugated steel. A portion of the top of the roof has what can be described as a quarter of a cylinder on top of it. A bus to rail transfer area is below the station platform at street level, along with the entrance.

Lenox. The Lenox station is underground, with an island platform between two tracks. This station is somewhat dimly lit, but there is no sense of danger. The station is presently undergoing a ceiling replacement and lighting is much improved. The walls of the station are grey but station lighting makes it appear to be a light brown-yellowish color. There is a bus to rail transfer on both sides of the station. The station signs on the platform hang from a metal framework, which hangs high above from the ceiling of the bus to rail area. Escalators go from the platform to the bus area, which is below the south entrance. Other escalators go to the station entrance. The north entrance is inside an office building and the south entrance is on Lenox Road. The south entrance has a skylight shaped like half a cylinder. There are two marble plaques mounted in the middle of the platform. One plaque commemorates MARTA and state officials and other entombs a time capsule. This is probably the only time capsule entombed in a transit system.

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