Sandy Springs and North Springs MARTA riders lost direct service to downtown Atlanta all weekend as the Red Line ran only between North Springs and Lindbergh Center on Saturday, Aug. 8, and Sunday, Aug. 9.

The planned maintenance forced passengers at both Sandy Springs stations to transfer at Lindbergh Center to reach all other southbound Red Line destinations. Both the Red and Gold lines operated on 20-minute single-tracking schedules, according to MARTA Service on X.

MARTA didn't explain why.

The truncation hit the Perimeter Center corridor at a bad time. Mercedes-Benz USA, Cox Enterprises, UPS Supply Chain Solutions and Intercontinental Exchange all have headquarters or major offices served by those stations, and the disruption overlapped with a separate highway closure that choked surface-street traffic across the region.

Route 87 buses cancelled too

On top of the rail disruption, MARTA cancelled multiple Route 87 bus trips on Sunday. The bus line connects Dunwoody Station and North Springs Station through the Perimeter Center office district. Six northbound and six southbound runs were scrapped, starting at 12:35 p.m. and continuing through the late evening.

I-285 closure added road delays

A separate full closure of I-285 in Cobb County ran from 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, through 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10, pushing extra traffic onto surface streets and slowing 28 MARTA bus routes, including Route 87. MARTA warned riders on Instagram to expect longer wait times.

The transit agency noted that rail service was not affected by the highway closure itself, meaning the Red Line truncation and the I-285 delays were two independent problems stacking on the same weekend.

No word on Monday restoration

As of Sunday evening, MARTA had not posted confirmation that full Red Line service would resume for Monday morning. The I-285 closure was scheduled to lift at 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 10.