USA: The first R211T open gangway trainsets being supplied by Kawasaki Rail Car for the New York Subway entered service on February 1 on the C/Eighth Avenue Local Line linking Washington Heights and East New York.
New York state Governor Kathy Hochul, Metropolitan Transportation Authority leaders and various elected officials took a ride on the trains later the same day.
The walk-through cars are being supplied under a January 2018 order to pilot the use of such trains. The manufacturer has a framework contract to build 535 cars with options for up to 1 077 more, of which a call for 640 was exercised in October last year. Delivery of the trains from the first batch has been underway since July 2021.
Of the initial build, a pre-series fleet of 20 vehicles has been equipped with open gangways supplied by component specialist Hübner.
‘The average age of MTA subway cars is 25 years old and our oldest subway car, the R46, is nearly 50 years old’, said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. ‘MTA needs to acquire thousands of cars, they need to be the most innovative designs and be eligible for federal funding. This pilot programme will teach us if the open gangway design works for New Yorkers.’
‘The R211 shifted the riding experience for riders with a disability, providing wider doors as well as enhanced accessible seating options’, added MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo. ‘In addition to wider doors, these cars provide additional accessible seating, digital displays that will provide more detailed station-specific information, and brighter lighting and signage. The R211 subway cars include pre-installed security cameras in each car adding to the 1 000 that already have in-car cameras throughout the system.’
