Seven months after being given over to the sea, two old MARTA railcars are adapting well to underwater life.
Instead of being sold for scrap, the railcars were dismantled and added to an artificial reef off the Georgia coast last December at the request of the state Department of Natural Resources, which has used subway cars and other man-made materials to build artificial reefs since the 1970s.
When DNR explored the reef last month for the first time since the MARTA cars were added, divers found soft corals growing on the railcars and nine kinds of game fish — all signs of the thriving marine life the artificial reef is meant to foster.
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
“The artificial reef is looking great, and we are encouraged by the amount of coral growth and marine wildlife activity,” DNR marine biologist Cameron Brinton said in a statement.
Six more MARTA rail cars are destined to join these two. Last year, MARTA’s board of directors approved a $2.1 million contract to hire Kinksharyo International to dismantle and prep all eight. Before the rail cars are taken by barge to be dropped in the ocean, any oil, grease and solvents are removed and the cars are stripped of their parts. Only the shell of the car is added to the reef.
MARTA General Manager and CEO Collie Greenwood said the agency is proud to be able to reuse the cars in such an environmentally conscious way.
“It’s exciting to see this type of development on the railcars after only a few months and we hope to provide more retired railcars for reef deployment as we make room for our new trains,” Greenwood said.
MARTA’s cars are part of Artificial Reef L, a two-square-mile reef located 23 nautical miles east of Ossabaw Island, just south of Savannah.
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Artificial reefs mimic natural ones by creating a habitat for marine wildlife. Photos and videos from last month’s dive provided by MARTA show the sides of the rail cars covered in soft corals similar to the texture of shag rug. Thousands of fish can be seen swimming in and around the cars, not unlike a busy train during rush hour.
The longer the cars are in the ocean, the more marine life will develop around them.
The artificial reef where the MARTA cars sit are home to lots of other man-made discards. The reef also includes New York City subway cars, decommissioned military tanks and cargo ships and part of the Golden Ray, a container ship that capsized in 2019.
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Credit: Georgia Department of Natural Resources
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