MARTA expedites streetcar wheel replacement following safety hold on service
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) has placed a safety hold on Atlanta Streetcar service through early 2023 and expedited a wheel replacement project in a move the authority calls proactive after a November inspection found wheel degradation had progressed to a point of causing damage to the track.
Daniel Hecht, deputy chief mechanical officer at MARTA, detailed the decision during a presentation to the MARTA Board of Directors on Dec. 8, where he noted the decision came down to safety.
“We want to walk the talk. We are safety oriented in operations. This safety hold demonstrates our priority, and we’re going to do this right,” Hecht said.
The four streetcars will have their wheel assemblies removed and shipped to Siemens’ facility in Sacramento, Calif., where the wheels will be replaced, along with the brake assemblies, and shipped back to MARTA to be installed back on the streetcar vehicles. The streetcars each have 12 wheels on six axles and overhauling a single streetcar’s wheel assemblies takes about eight weeks.
The streetcars are expected to be back in service in early 2023.
Companies involved in the wheel assembly and brake assembly overhaul of Atlanta Streetcar:
- Streetcar manufacturer: Siemens
- Brake assemblies: Knorr
- Wheel supplier: Penn Machine
- Support/Engineering services: Hatch LTK

Mischa Wanek-Libman | Group Editorial Director
Mischa Wanek-Libman is director of communications with Transdev North America. She has more than 20 years of experience working in the transportation industry covering construction projects, engineering challenges, transit and rail operations and best practices.
Wanek-Libman has held top editorial positions at freight rail and public transportation business-to-business publications including as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Mass Transit from 2018-2024. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content.
She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and served 14 years as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.
She is a graduate of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication.