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3/13/2023
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week announced it has begun phasing into service the R211 subway cars on New York City Transit's A Line.
The cars are part of a 535-car order of the R211a model, which includes 440 cars with state-of-the-art amenities, 15 Staten Island Railway five-car trains and 20 cars with the open gangway feature, MTA officials said in a press release.
The R211 cars are a critical part of the MTA's modernization plan. They feature 58-inch-wide door openings that are 8 inches wider than standard door openings on existing cars, which is designed to speed up boarding and reduce the amount of time trains sit in stations.
"We’re investing over $6 billion in new train cars as part of the historic $55 billion MTA Capital Program, and it’s not just for aesthetics, because these new train cars enable us to run more frequent service," said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
In October 2022, the MTA announced board approval to order an additional 640 R211 subway cars, bringing the total number of new subway cars to 1,175 within the next two years. This second set of new subway cars is expected to be delivered in early 2025.
The cars are being manufactured by Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Yonkers, New York.