Bankhead is an elevated subway station in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, the western terminus of the Green Line in the

Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA ) is the principal public transport operator in the Atlanta metropolitan area. Formed in 1971 as strictly a bus system, MARTA operates a network of Public transport bus service, bus route ...

(MARTA) rail system. Bankhead station is located in the Grove Park Neighborhood due to a recent neighborhood expansion. This station primarily serves the neighborhoods of Grove Park, Bankhead, West Lake, Howell Station, and other Westside residents. Bankhead Station provides connecting bus service to Donald Lee Hollowell Highway, Maddox Park, and the future Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry; which will be the largest park in the city of Atlanta Unlike most MARTA stations, which are provisioned for eight rail cars, Bankhead can only accommodate two cars, with adequate space left in place to allow extension to four cars in the future. It is the only station served exclusively by the Green Line. The area it serves is scheduled to be an important part of the Belt Line, near

Maddox Park Maddox Park is a community park located in the west side of Atlanta, Georgia, Atlanta (in the Bankhead (Atlanta), Bankhead neighborhood), across Bankhead Highway, Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway from Bankhead (MARTA station), Bankhead MARTA station. ...

and the new Westside Park, which would be the largest park in the city of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Station layout

History

Bankhead Station was opened on December 12, 1992, the same day as Doraville. The Green Line is a stub of the originally planned Proctor Creek Line, which was planned to expand north of Bankhead to the Perry Homes community, now called West Highlands. In addition, there is another stub in between the Edgewood/Candler Park and East Lake stations, which would have been called the

Tucker-North Dekalb Line The Tucker-North Dekalb Line is a partially built spur of MARTA's Blue Line. The Tucker-North Dekalb line was built with the original line from 1975 to 1979. It was constructed between the stations of Edgewood/Candler Park and East Lake but is c ...

. This included plans for an additional 2 stations, one at

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

and another in

North Druid Hills North Druid Hills, also known as Briarcliff or Toco Hills, is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (North Druid Hills CDP) in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 20,385 in 2020. The commercial center of the ...

. The future Green Line would have most likely went between Bankhead and North Druid Hills stations. In December 2005, Bankhead station was the first MARTA station to implement

Breeze Card The Breeze Card is a stored value smart card used on bus and rapid transit routes in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is part of an automated fare collection system which Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) introduced to the ...

s, and there was a controversy when it was discovered that the fare gates ended 15 inches (380 mm) from the ground, which allowed fare evaders to crawl underneath the gates. The issue was fixed by installing plastic bars to the bottom of the gates, reducing the gap to 6 inches (150 mm) and virtually eliminating the possibility of fare evaders crawling through it. In 2019, MARTA announced a proposal to change the name of Bankhead station to

Donald Lee Hollowell Donald Lee Hollowell (December 19, 1917 – December 27, 2004) was an American civil rights attorney during the Civil Rights Movement, in the state of Georgia. He successfully sued to integrate Atlanta's public schools, Georgia colleges, univer ...

Station, reflecting the new name of

Bankhead Highway The Bankhead Highway was a United States cross-country automobile highway connecting Washington, D.C., and San Diego, California, San Diego. The Bankhead Highway's beginnings can be traced back to 1916 when the Bankhead Highway Association was or ...

Future

The platform is scheduled to be lengthened to accommodate six-car trains by 2025, due to significant development planned around the station and to accommodate the upcoming CQ400 trains, which will be four-car sets instead of two like the existing models. This would allow longer trains to run on the Green Line and could make way for a potential extension towards

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. It is the state's third most populous cou ...

Nearby landmarks & popular destinations

* Westside Park *

BeltLine The Atlanta Beltline is long multi-use corridor on a former railway corridor which encircles the core of Atlanta, Georgia. The Atlanta Beltline is designed to reconnect neighborhoods and communities historically divided and marginalized by in ...

Westside Trail *

King Plow Arts Center The King Plow Arts Center is a commercial, performing, and visual arts center located on Marietta Street in the Marietta Street Artery district of West Midtown, Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital ...

* Fulton County Jail
Fulton County Division of Family and Children Services

Bus routes

The station is served by the following MARTA bus routes: * Route 26 - Marietta Street / Perry Boulevard * Route 50 - Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway

References

External links

Station Overview, including video tourMARTA Guide

Atlanta Beltline Westside Trail

Donald Lee Holowell Bankhead entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankhead (Marta Station) Green Line (MARTA) Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority stations Railway stations in Atlanta Railway stations in the United States opened in 1992 1992 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)