MARTA has completed an extensive rail car rehabilitation program overhauling 218 of its oldest cars to extend each car's life line by 15 years. The cost-effective program has already resulted in an increase in MARTA's rail service reliability by 22 percent and has also improved on-time performance substantially. MARTA General Manager/CEO Beverly A. Scott, Ph.D., unveiled the final two rehabilitated rail cars on February 18, 2009, during a special celebration at the authority's Armour Rail Yard.

For a cost of $246 million, MARTA contracted with New York based-Alstom Transportation, Inc. USA to take each vehicle down to its shell and rebuild it from the ground up using new components and designs. By refurbishing the rail cars instead of buying new ones at a price of $3 million each, which was the average cost of a new rail car in 2005, MARTA saved an estimated $408 million. In addition thanks to careful management of the rehabilitation contract, MARTA is completing the program approximately $3 million under budget.

In conjunction with the rehabilitation work, MARTA received significant assistance from the Rail Vehicle Consultant team of LTK Engineering Services, Parsons, and S.L. King & Associates. The RVC team has been responsible for the development, implementation and management of the rehabilitation effort as well as the Life Cycle Asset Reliability Enhancement (L-CARE) program, which is designed to maintain the newly rehabilitated vehicles in a state of good repair.

"The success of our rail car rehabilitation program highlights the criticality of "state of good repair" and system preservation," said General Manager/CEO Dr. Beverly A. Scott. "The program would not have been possible without the generous grants we received from the Federal Transit Administration of the United States Department of Transportation totaling $166.9 million. The completion of this program is a great way to kickoff the celebration of MARTA's 30 years providing combined bus, rail and paratransit service to Metro Atlanta."

MARTA joined with regional leaders and transit stakeholders during an informative three-day rail symposium on February 18th - 20th. Participants received valuable information on the latest trolley, streetcar and light rail technologies and discussed how these systems could be used for future expansion projects included in the Concept 3 regional transit plan.

"As we move toward implementation of an expanded regional transit system, it is essential that we take a thoughtful and creative look at the transit technologies that will work best for us," said MARTA General Manager/CEO Dr. Beverly A. Scott. "These invaluable professional exchanges allow us to work more closely together, share our plans with the world market, and gain tremendous insight on ways to build smarter and faster. This is the first in a series of symposiums that MARTA will host as we move our focus to implementing our regional transit vision."

Panel discussions and technology displays were provided to showcase the latest trends in the rail car manufacturing industry. Participants evaluated how effectively these systems could be applied to Concept 3 including regional expansion projects such as the BeltLine, Peachtree Streetcar, light rail and commuter rail.

Rail car manufacturers in attendance included: Alstom, United Streetcar, Stadler, Siemens, Kinki Sharyo, Breda, Bombardier, and CAF. Manufacturers collaborated with transit professionals to learn how their vehicles can be developed to best accommodate the region's transit needs.

During working sessions, participants addressed how to design a regional transit system to maximize available funding, streamline operations and maintenance activities, and capitalize on economies of scale.

MARTA recently joined the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to present five new TSA canine teams that will enhance explosives detection capabilities at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport air cargo facilities. Canine units from the MARTA Police Department and the Atlanta Police Department (APD) partnered with TSA to assist in training their new teams.

"We appreciate the assistance of the Atlanta Police Department and MARTA Police in helping train our teams and prepare them for certification," said Beth Shockley, assistant federal security director, TSA Atlanta.

The new teams are part of TSA's nationwide deployment of employee-led canine teams that spend the majority of their time dedicated to air cargo inspections. The canine units from MARTA, TSA and APD will continue training together to further enhance enforcement efforts on the local and national level.

"The MARTA Police Department greatly appreciates our partnership with TSA and APD and is proud of what our canine teams contributed to this training program," said MARTA Chief of Police Wanda Dunham. "By pooling our resources and sharing our expertise, we are able to more effectively preserve the safety of our respective jurisdictions."

MARTA's Explosive Detection K-9 Unit was created in 1998 and has grown to include 12 teams, each consisting of an officer and handler. The teams are federally trained and certified in the detection of explosive chemicals and compounds. MARTA was the first transit agency in the nation to receive TSA-certified dogs in a pilot program begun in 2000. Members of MARTA's K-9 Unit participated in the 2004 Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., the G-8 Summit held in Savannah in 2004, and often assist local police departments with explosive surveillance and detection.

Last year, the MARTA Police Department added its first narcotics detection K-9 team.

The MARTA Police Department, led by Chief Wanda Dunham, is a full-service police agency comprised of MARTA's 370 sworn officers and civilian employees. The MARTA police department is one of only four transit police agencies in the U.S. to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

For more information about the TSA National Explosives Detection Canine Team Program, visit the TSA Web site at www.tsa.gov.

For more information on the MARTA police department, please visit the agency's web page at www.itsmarta.com/police.