New York subway presented new 'futuristic' cars: what they look like

The New York City Transportation Authority (MTA) has unveiled a batch of the latest subway cars. Officials call them "futuristic", although looking at the cars, one can argue with that. The presentation of the cars took place in Brooklyn on July 1 - a year after their first exit on the rails was planned, but the implementation of the plan was delayed, writes NYDailyNews.

According to MTA representatives, it will take another year for these cars to enter service.

The new carriages, dubbed R211s, will run on the letters on the metro lines and will allow the city's transportation department to use improved traffic lights on certain sections of the track, allowing trains to move faster and closer together.

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The MTA received five new carriages last week and will prepare them for operation at the Coney Island site over the next three weeks before testing them on subway rails without passengers, officials said.

It is planned that the service will receive a total of 535 cars, of which 75 will run on the Staten Island Railway, as well as 20 cars with open vestibules, in which passengers will be able to move around the entire train without opening the doors.

It will take a year to test the first batch (5 wagons) for safety. The new coaches are slated to begin carrying passengers in September 2022 - 11 months later than the MTA originally planned.

“We will begin qualification trials over the next few weeks, so if you're lucky, you can see these cars in action somewhere,” said NYC Transit Chief Operating Officer Demetrius Crichlow.

“We plan not to introduce them into passenger use for at least a year,” he added.

All 535 wagons are expected to enter full service no earlier than September 2024, that is, with a delay of more than a year, according to the MTA.

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The new cars will replace the R46, some of the oldest subway cars in the world, which first entered service in the late 1970s and were manufactured by Pullman Standard, which has since ceased operations.

The doors on the new carriages are eight inches (20 cm) wider than the rest of the carriages on the lettered lines, which Crichlow says will help passengers get on and off the train faster.

They are also equipped with new digital signage and will be the first MTA subway cars to have CCTV cameras in passenger areas. The cars also have cameras that record train drivers and the tracks in front of them, in addition, they have USB power supplies for charging electronic devices. More in the video:

“With these cars, passenger service will be better and there will be less breakdowns,” said Andrew Albert, passenger rights advocate on the MTA board. - They accommodate more passengers. They are also equipped with an electronic warning system, which will allow passengers to quickly know everything that is happening in the metro. "

New railcar maker Kawasaki was awarded a $ 2018 billion contract in 1,44. That is, it turns out that one carriage costs approximately $ 2,7 million. This is 35% more than the $ 2 million per carriage paid by the Bombardier MTA for a shipment of R179 subway cars, which were scheduled for delivery by 2017. At the same time, the order was not completed until December 2019, and the train crews eventually dubbed these cars "lemons" due to constant mechanical problems.

MTA officials said Kawasaki's failure to deliver the new wagons on time was partly due to the impact of the pandemic on global supply chains.

“I wouldn't say they were wrong, but I think there were some technical problems,” Crichlow said. - They worked on a lot of points. These cars will be fantastic. Many problems have been fixed. "

MTA officials have the opportunity to purchase an additional 1077 Kawasaki cars. But before making a larger purchase, the department will assess the work of the first batch.