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Cameras Will be in 435 New Subway Cars that MTA Wants to Buy for $1.27B–But Only If New Budget Gets OK

The MTA’s $65 billion budget was shot down in a surprise move on Christmas Eve. That means the MTA’s proposal to spend $1.27 billion to buy 435 new subway cars that could be delivered by 2027 is temporarily in limbo.

| 03 Jan 2025 | 12:27
    The MTA wants to buy 435 more of the subway cars known as the R211s. Pictured here is the inaugural ride of the first R211A subway to enter customer service, from 207 St on the A line on Friday, Mar 10, 2023, taken at 145th Street in Manhattan. As of 2027, there were be 1610 Kawasaki-built R211s, including the open-gangway cars, the single unit R211A as pictured here.
    The MTA wants to buy 435 more of the subway cars known as the R211s. Pictured here is the inaugural ride of the first R211A subway to enter customer service, from 207 St on the A line on Friday, Mar 10, 2023, taken at 145th Street in Manhattan. As of 2027, there were be 1610 Kawasaki-built R211s, including the open-gangway cars, the single unit R211A as pictured here. ( Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
    Hey, what are you doing? As opposed to the open-gangway cars in other world cities, where you can walk from one end of the train to the other, the Kawasaki-built R211Ts are constructed as 5-car units, which can be combined to make a 10-car train. This gives the midtrain conductor a secure space to monitor the subway trains passage, unlike similar subway trains elsewhere.
    Hey, what are you doing? As opposed to the open-gangway cars in other world cities, where you can walk from one end of the train to the other, the Kawasaki-built R211Ts are constructed as 5-car units, which can be combined to make a 10-car train. This gives the midtrain conductor a secure space to monitor the subway trains passage, unlike similar subway trains elsewhere. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman)
    The MTA seeks $1.27 billion to buy 435 new R211 subway cars including 80 of the open-gangway cars (above) that will feature a hard shell variant. One potential safety benefit, the lack of doors between cars makes it more difficult for dangerous subway surfers to climb on top of cars.
    The MTA seeks $1.27 billion to buy 435 new R211 subway cars including 80 of the open-gangway cars (above) that will feature a hard shell variant. One potential safety benefit, the lack of doors between cars makes it more difficult for dangerous subway surfers to climb on top of cars. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman)
    Four hundred miles north of Manhattan, The Societe de transport de Montreal has been operating 71 sets of their MPM-10 trains for the last eight years, with a hard shell connection between cars, with a wider passage than the MTA has.
    Four hundred miles north of Manhattan, The Societe de transport de Montreal has been operating 71 sets of their MPM-10 trains for the last eight years, with a hard shell connection between cars, with a wider passage than the MTA has. ( Photo: Ralph Spielman)

The good news: at its last board meeting of 2024, the MTA tentatively approved a $1.27 billion contract to purchase 435 new subway cars, that will include a security camera in each new car and replace cars that have been rumbling down the tracks since the 1970s.

The cars the MTA wants will have additional accessible seating, brighter lights, better signage and wider doors and could be delivered by 2027.

The bad news is the entire MTA five year, $65 billion budget was shot down the legislature on Dec. 24, because a big chunk of the budget was not yet funded. So a new deal will have to hammered out in a new legislative session this year that puts legislative leaders at odds with Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The proposal that was tentatively approved calls for 80 of the new “open gangway” cars that began running on an experimental basis on the A and C lines in 2024.

MTA Chairman Janno Leiber left little doubt that the new cars are badly needed for riders on the A,B,C,N,Q,R & W trains with the new cars expected to start replacing stock that has been rolling since the 1970s by 2027.

“Old train cars break down six times as frequently as new cars, so replacing them is more than just a matter of aesthetics,” said Lieber after the tentative purchase was approved at the MTA’s final board meeting of the year on Dec. 18. At the time, he said the “purchase will help us get the next generation of rolling stock on the rails sooner so we can keep making the system more reliable and dramatically upgrade the passenger experience.”

The order if it gets final approval in early 2025 will include 435 additional R211 subway cars. Of that number, 355 will be the traditional closed-end cars and 80 open-gangway cars bringing the total number of R211 cars ordered to 1,610. The new cars will replace the R46s which first entered service in the mid to late 1970’s, in service on the A and C lines as well as the N, R, Q and W lines. This new option will also allow NYC Transit to begin replacement of the almost 40-year old R68s, which primarily operate on the B, D, N and W lines.

Faced with the prospect of fleet renewal for older rail cars, in January 2018, the MTA Board awarded the original contract to Kawasaki Rail Car Inc. to design, build and deliver 535 subway cars, comprised of 440 closed-end cars (R211A), 20 open-gangway (R211T) and 75 cars for Staten Island Railway.

The R211 cars are about five times more reliable than the R46s, traveling an average of 220,000 miles, which amounts to 174,000 miles more than the R46s, before requiring maintenance for a mechanical issue.

The R211 features security cameras in every car, which has added consern due to the recent random attacks on subways, and 58-inch-wide door openings, which are eight inches wider than standard door openings on existing cars. Currently, there are 345 R211 cars in service throughout the New York City Transit system, including on the A and C lines with some are running on the Staten Island Railway.

Brooklyn and Queens riders will also have the benefit of two five-car open-gangway R211T trains running on the G train between Court Square in Queens and Church Avenue in Brooklyn, starting early next year, They will be interspersed with the regular trains that will continue to run on that line. Currently, there are 20 R211T open gangway cars from the first order, and each open-gangway train is committed to local service with the proviso that there be no longer duration than four minutes between stops.

One curious note on the open-gangway cars: with four five-car sets, two were equipped with a “hard” passageway between the cars, the other sets had a “soft” passageway, looking like the inside of an accordion. The 80 new cars will have the “hard” passageway.

Currently, the first part of the NYC Transit’s contracted R211s in service can be ridden on the A and C trains,

MTA’s Chief of Rolling Stock Tim Mulligan furthered. “The R211s are state of the art and less prone to breakdowns, which means smoother trips for tens of thousands of New Yorkers and more reliable service for decades to come.”

But the new subway cars for city commuters may all come down to how the state budget plans proceed.

Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate majority leader and Carl Heastie, the Assembly speaker, only let Lieber know of the surprise rejection move on Christmas Eve. The MTA now has 10 days to respond. Based on the response, the legislative leaders could withdraw their rejection or force the MTA to submit a new plan.

The big concern is where the unfunded $33 billion included in the original $65 billion MTA plan will come from. The letter from Stewart-Cousins and Heastie said the budget gap “is a specific concern that needs to be addressed before we can approve the program.” The state budget is due to be finalized by March 31.