Hundreds of people forced open the doors on a MARTA train between Lindbergh and Arts Center stations Wednesday evening after delays left passengers exasperated and angry.
After about an hour stuck on the train, the air-conditioning and lights had cut out. Few people had cell service.
They walked single-file along a concrete ledge that hugged the wall of a tunnel on one side. That ledge was about 2 feet wide and dropped off to the tracks several feet below.
When the group finally made it off the tracks they were near 18th Street and West Peachtree in Midtown.
A power outage caused the delays, MARTA spokesman Erik Burton said.
Passengers on Twitter complained about missing kick off at the Atlanta United game.
But passengers were most upset about a lack of communication and information.
Passenger Erin Hogan told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she missed her flight to California for a medical procedure because of the delays.
Another rider, Lisa Daniels, said she was supposed to be on-call as a doctor at Emory.
“Before we can bring everything back online, we have to ensure the rail is safe,” Burton said just before 8:30 p.m., when MARTA police and other officials were checking the same tunnels passengers escaped through earlier, between Arts Center and Lindbergh stations.
A bus bridge took patrons between Lindbergh, Arts Center, Midtown and North Avenue stations until shortly after 9 p.m. when the rails were cleared and the trains began running again.
At the Midtown station, MARTA police came on the train and let people know they might want to consider exiting and walking, taking Uber or using a taxi as delays continue.
By the time the Atlanta United game ended, east-west trains were running from Phillips Arena to take people home from the game.
Paul Merz, one of the people who exited the train after forcing open its doors, told The AJC people pressed on the intercom but no one answered.
He was one of the people trapped on a train when a track caught fire a few months ago, he said.
“The lack of communication is mind-boggling,” Merz said. “(MARTA) will be getting a phone call tomorrow.”
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