The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled on July 18th the design features of 1,025 “new and reimagined” subway cars—including enhancements to the exteriors and interiors of current-design cars, and addition of up to 750 “Open Car End” R-211 cars that will reduce station dwell time and increase capacity.
The MTA also previewed renovation of 31 subway stations throughout the New York City Transit system, and announced that the first of several Requests for Proposals will be issued this week. The MTA said it is using design-build contracts to expedite the process and ensure the shortest timeframe for project completion. These investments are part of the $27 billion, five-year MTA Capital Program to renew and expand the MTA network. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the plan at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn.
“New York deserves a world-class transportation network, worthy of its role as the heartbeat of the 21st century economy,” Cuomo said. “The MTA design team developed a bold and visionary reimagining of the quintessential commuter experience, incorporating best practices from global transit systems, and focusing on our core mission to renew, enhance and expand. We are going to do more than renovate—we are bringing subway stations to a higher standard than ever before, and the new vision for subway cars will increase capacity and reduce overcrowding and delays. I congratulate the MTA for thinking creatively and working with the kind of passion and urgency it takes to move this state forward.”
“The Governor gave the MTA a mandate to implement new, world-class designs as quickly as possible for all new subway cars, and that’s what you’re seeing today—innovation making the lives and commutes of all New Yorkers easier,” MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast said. “Coupled with new methods for redeveloping our stations at the Governor’s direction, customers will see us get in, get done, and return new and improved stations to them in the most efficient way possible.”
Reimagined and Enhanced Subway Cars
Later this week, the MTA will issue an RFP for the construction of 1,025 new subway cars that will highlight that the timeline of design and production, as well as cost-effectiveness, will be central factors in awarding the contract.
The RFP will also emphasize the need to align with MTA design guidelines, which were established after a review of best practices in a number of major metropolitan areas from around the world, and identified several key elements for use in the New York system, including:
• R-211 Open Car End Design: The MTA anticipates that out of 1,025 new cars, up to 750 will be R-211s, configured as 150 five-unit trainsets. They will feature an Open Car End design without gangways. The Open Car End design replaces the door and open gangway between cars with a diaphragm that creates longer, open spaces, allowing for greater passenger flow movement and increasing capacity. These cars have become an international standard, MTA said. In London 31% of the Underground fleet will be Open Car End by the end of the year. In Paris, RATP’s figure will climb to 37%; and in Toronto, TTC’s will reach 56%, with addition of Bombardier Rocket cars.
• Wider Doors: The door width of the new cars will be expanded from the current MTA standard of 50 inches to 58 inches. Wider subway doors can reduce delays by allowing customers to enter and exit more quickly, and have also become an international standard. According to a computer simulation of passenger flow conducted on behalf of the MTA, in crowded scenarios wider doors can reduce a train’s station dwell time by 32%.
Customer Amenities & Security: The interior of new cars will also feature a host of new amenities, including WiFi, USB chargers, full color digital customer information displays, digital advertisements, illuminated door opening alerts and security cameras to promote passenger safety.
Exterior Features: Design elements for the exterior of the new subway cars include a new blue nose with large windows, LED headlights, and a blue stripe with gold accents along the sides.
Improved Subway Stations
The announcement highlighted key elements of the MTA's initiative to create a new and improved design standard for subway stations, and undertake extensive renovations at 31 stations from across the five boroughs. The 31 stations included in the program build upon a larger campaign designed to improve the customer experience, and includes component and renewal work at more than 170 other stations. Design elements include:
• Enhanced lighting.
• Improved signage to make it easier for customers to navigate stations, including digital, real-time updates on on-time performance at subway entrances, before customers even enter the station.
• Inclusion of amenitie, such as countdown clocks, improved cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi and new art.
Renovations will also consider the architectural legacy of each station, and remain sensitive to historical elements as the stations undergo redesign.