Trump administration launches federal investigation into Atlantas MARTA system after fatal train stabbing
The Trump administration is launching a federal investigation into Atlanta’s troubled transit system after two recent stabbings, including the killing of a 66-year-old woman on a MARTA train.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Transit Administration will audit the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) over worker and rider safety, citing what officials described as alarming rates of violent incidents on the system.“I want ANSWERS from Atlanta.The number of assaults, robberies, and rapes on MARTA’s trains is MORE THAN THREE TIMES the national average,” Duffy wrote in a Thursday X post.The probe follows the murder of 66-year-old Margaret Swan, a great-grandmother, who was repeatedly stabbed to death on an Atlanta train allegedly by a homeless man.“Margaret’s family DESERVES ACCOUNTABILITY.
No one should be forced to fear for their safety on public transit,” Duffy said.In a June 3 letter to MARTA Interim CEO Jonathan Hunt, the FTA said the audit will examine whether the agency has properly implemented its safety plan, including measures to prevent assaults on transit workers and protect passengers.The agency said MARTA reported one of only two transit-worker assault fatalities nationwide in fiscal year 2025 and that its rate of serious personal-security incidents has been nearly twice the national average since fiscal year 2024.The federal review will also scrutinize MARTA’s plans to reduce crime and fare evasion, as well as how it has spent federal and other funds meant to improve security for passengers and workers.Duffy said that MARTA has 15 days to turn over safety plans, assault reports, training records and other documents requested by investigators.The probe follows two stabbing attacks on MARTA property, including the fatal attack on the 66-year-old woman and another stabbing days earlier at a station.In the recent Swan murder on Saturday, John Elijah Matthews, 25, of Decatur, Georgia, was charged in a f...