USA: New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority has invited proposals for its largest-ever Subway car contract, which could see up to 36% of the entire fleet of 6 574 cars replaced.
There is a planned base order of 1 140 R262 Subway cars to replace the R62 and R62A fleets operating on lines 1, 3 and 6, and options to purchase an additional 1 250 cars to replace the R142 and R142A cars on lines 2, 4 and 5.
MTA said the full order for 2 390 cars would be more cars than the Chicago Transit Authority and Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority’s fleets combined.
Specifications
The R262 cars are required to have a mean distance between failure requirement of 200 000 miles (321 869 km), compared to the R62/R62A’s average of 89 000 miles (143 232 km).
Other requirements include a higher quality announcement system, assistive listening devices that allow hearing-impaired passengers to connect to hearing aids, an automatic passenger counting system, onboard and platform edge CCTV, an electronic lock to prevent unauthorised cab access, and rheostatic braking to achieve cost savings through the use of fewer parts.
The order is to contain a still to be decided number of cars with open gangways, which would be a first such design to ve deployed on the Subway’s A Division.
New approach to procurement
The cars are to be funded by the MTA’s 2025-29 Capital Plan, which received $68bn in the FY2026 Enacted State Budget. The purchase also includes funds available through the 2020-24 Capital Plan, which is supported by road congestion pricing revenues.
MTA is taking a new approach to the procurement process. Jessie Lazarus, Chief odf the MTA’s Rolling Stock Programme, said ‘we are modernising our approach to attract as many qualified firms as possible. We are asking the industry to come with their best ideas – technical and commercial – to meet our performance standards and help the MTA deliver the world class transit experience our customers deserve.’
More than 60% of the technical specifications are performance-based, rather than design-driven, to give manufacturers greater flexibility to propose innovative ideas. They are also being asked to submit total cost of ownership projections for the first time, which MTA said aims to balance ‘the current challenges that contractors face’ with ensuring that it is able to ensure ‘timely delivery of quality cars that riders deserve’.
Proposals are due by September 8 2026, and the contract is expected to be awarded by early 2028.
A public transit renaissance
‘Thousands of new Subway cars running better service and a more reliable ride for millions every day — that’s what we can achieve when we fully invest in transit’, state Governor Kathy Hochul said when the procurement was launched on March 19. ‘We are in the midst of a public transit renaissance in New York, with growing ridership, the best service in a generation and historic investments to modernise the lifeblood of our city. By bringing even more open gangway cars to the Subway, we can make real improvements to riders’ safety and overall experience.’
MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber said ‘New Yorkers are seeing a golden age of transit investment. So much of our capital investment goes unseen, but this next Subway car order — our largest ever — is a major step to visibly delivering the modern transit system New Yorkers deserve.’
