A freezing wait on MARTA's north/south line

Passengers jam a MARTA railcar on the north line Monday morning. Mechanical problems caused delays on a frigid monrning. Richard Halicks / rhailcks@ajc.com

Passengers jam a MARTA railcar on the north line Monday morning. Mechanical problems caused delays on a frigid monrning. Richard Halicks / rhailcks@ajc.com

MARTA’s north/south line briefly joined the rest of the world in the deep freeze Monday morning, running about 25 minutes behind during the rush hour.

Work- and school-bound riders cooled their heels in subfreezing temperatures on the platforms at College Park, East Point and points north. At College Park, the overhead signs listed only southbound trains, and northbound riders grumbled and shivered after an inaudible announcement on the station’s public address system.

MARTA spokesman Lyle V. Harris said in an email that mechanical issues had caused the delays.

Riders going northbound from the south side Monday confronted at least one train that had filled with passengers even before it left the airport, its first stop, and was still jammed with standing passengers past Five Points, seven stops later.

As of late morning, Harris said, delays on the north-south line were running six to 10 minutes. He said he expected the system to be back on schedule shortly.