MARTA ready for massive downtown concerts all week

MARTA says it's ready for five straight nights of massive concerts at Mercedes-Benz Stadium starting tonight.

The transit agency has released a detailed plan for moving crowds to and from Usher and Chris Brown's The R&B Tour.

Performances are scheduled for tonight, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Downtown Atlanta Inc. expects 70,000 people each night.

The question of readiness comes just over a year after escalator failures caused chaos following a Beyoncé concert at the same venue in summer 2025.

A reader who asked to remain anonymous emailed Urbanize Atlanta this week with concerns about MARTA's train frequency.

He wrote: "Usher/Chris Brown are having a concert at The Benz on Thursday. The concert will probably be over after 11 p.m. with over [50,000] people, and MARTA decides to run North/South trains 24 [minutes] apart."

He added: "They had to have known about this concert months in advance."

MARTA says that characterization isn't accurate.

According to Payson Schwin, MARTA's acting senior director of communications, the agency plans to run regular rail service throughout the five-night run.

Starting two hours before each concert, MARTA will add a shuttle train from Five Points to the SEC District Station.

"We will insert a shuttle train from Five Points to the SEC District Station to move crowds to the show," Schwin wrote in an email.

After the concerts, MARTA will add extra trains on both the East/West and North/South lines.

The goal is to get fans home as efficiently as possible.

Additional staff will be posted at SEC District, Vine City, and Five Points stations for crowd control.

MARTA provided a detailed breakdown of pre-event service.

On the Red and Gold Lines (North-South), regular peak service will run with trains arriving every five minutes at Five Points.

On the Blue and Green Lines (East-West), regular peak service will also run with trains arriving every five minutes at Five Points.

The extra shuttle train will operate continuously between Five Points and SEC District Station.

That station was formerly known as GWCC/CNN Center.

The shuttle drops off passengers, then routes to a pocket track between SEC District and Vine City stations.

It turns around at King Memorial and loops back to Five Points to pick up more riders.

MARTA was asked for specific headway information for post-concert service.

Headways are the amount of time between trains at specific platforms.

Schwin said it's complicated to give a simple answer for post-event operations.

The agency did not provide exact post-concert headway numbers in its response.

The Beyoncé concert in summer 2025 saw escalator breakdowns at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium MARTA station.

Those failures left thousands of fans waiting in long lines or walking up broken escalators after the show.

The incident drew criticism and prompted questions about MARTA's capacity for large events.

MARTA has since made improvements to station infrastructure and crowd management protocols.

The Usher and Chris Brown tour is one of the biggest R&B tours of the year.

Both artists have deep ties to Atlanta's music scene.

Usher is a Atlanta native and has frequently performed at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Chris Brown has also drawn large crowds in the city over his career.

The five-night stand is expected to bring significant economic activity to downtown Atlanta.

Restaurants, bars, and hotels near the stadium are likely to see increased business.

MARTA's performance during this week will be closely watched by transit advocates and city officials.

The agency has not reported any issues with the first night's service as of this writing.