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    1. Rail
    2. Vehicles

    MTA's transit committee approved

    Oct. 28, 2022
    The cars would be delivered starting in early 2025 and feature wider doors, security cameras, LED lighting and digital displays.
    Related To: Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NY MTA)
    Marc A. Hermann / MTA
    MTA exercised an option on an existing contract with Kawasaki Rail Car to order an additional 640 R211 rail cars.
    MTA exercised an option on an existing contract with Kawasaki Rail Car to order an additional 640 R211 rail cars.

    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board approved an option on an existing contract that will allow it to order 640 more R211 subway cars for an estimated $1.78 billion. The subway cars will be manufactured by Kawasaki Rail Car, Inc., wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Kawasaki Rail Car Manufacturing Co., Ltd., based in Yonkers, N.Y., at its facilities in Lincoln, Neb., and Yonkers. The state-of-the-art Lincoln facility will manufacture the car body structure and install interior equipment, while final assembly and function testing will be performed at the Lincoln and Yonkers facilities.

    Qualification testing on the R211s already delivered is underway with passenger service expected by the spring.

    The option, an addition to the base order of 535 cars awarded in 2018, would bring the total number of R211 cars ordered to 1,175, including 75 Staten Island rail cars and 20 cars that feature open gangways.

    Marc A. Hermann / MTA
    The interior of a R211 rail car.
    The interior of a R211 rail car.
    These R211 cars, initially planned for the A and C lines and the Staten Island Railway, are a critical part of the MTA's ongoing modernization efforts. They feature 58-inch-wide door openings that are eight inches wider than standard door openings on existing cars. The wider doorways are designed to speed up boarding and reduce the amount of time trains sit in stations.

    The cars also include security cameras, digital displays that will provide information about service and stations, and brighter lighting and signage, slicker bonnet design, among other features.

    "We are thrilled to see customers coming back to the system with increased frequency and our main objective is to provide safe, fast reliable service,” said New York City Transit President Richard Davey. “These modern trains feature wider doorways that will help speed up boarding time, run more reliably and give our riders a more modern passenger experience.”

    "Our commitment to provide the best and most reliable service to our customers is unwavering and this investment is proof of that,” said New York City Transit Senior Vice President for Subways Demetrius Crichlow. “The MTA will deliver on its promise to provide the most efficient, most comfortable, and most modern service in the quickest timeline possible.”