ATL Journal-Constitution: MARTA says it'll clear up delays

[marmar]

MARTA says it'll clear up delays


By Ariel Hart
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 08/09/08

At times this week, MARTA riders jammed into full trains at the height of rush hour, or they had to wait for one they could fit into because the agency had a shortage of train cars.

David Springstead, MARTA's director of maintenance operations, said a confluence of problems left the agency short of rider space. MARTA sometimes ran four-car trains instead of six cars because of maintenance issues, and it had to pull at least one train from a run.

"We have had what I would say was a subpar week, I won't disagree with that," Springstead said. "But our folks are going to do everything in our power to provide better service."

Joe Erves, director of rail car maintenance, said two of his employees died recently, leaving the rest of the department devastated and in need of counseling.

"Our repair work, our maintenance activities reduced drastically," Erves said. "We had delay times repairing those vehicles and returning those back to service." .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.ajc.com/search/content/metro/stories/2008/08/09/marta.html